How Did We Get Here?
by evans516
Summary: They've known each other since they were 16. Now, almost 20 years and 2 kids later, she's ready to walk away. But he's not going to let his family fall apart without a fight.
1. Estranged

_Estranged_

This was the first time he had been home in months. He had been out of the country, throwing everything he had into his work. And in a moment, that all came to a screeching halt. He was now home, standing in the cemetery at his father's funeral. He had tried to forget the hurt of losing a parent after his mother's passing when he was a teenager, but it was all coming back to him; his chest felt heavy.

Everyone shifted uncomfortably, their black clothes making them extra hot in the July sun. Steve McGarrett, however, remained perfectly still. He scanned the small group of people for his sister, but couldn't find her. His eyes stopped on three girls, his girls, standing directly across from him. This was the first time he had seen any of them in months and he couldn't believe he had been away so long. On the left was Lucy, his youngest at 4 years old. Her tiny face was tear-streaked as tears continued to spill out of her big blue eyes. He knew how close both of his daughters were with their grandfather and he regretted not being able to see them before now. On the far right was his older daughter, Julia, who was 7 years old. Her sandy brown hair was in pig tails and she was wearing glasses; _when did she start needing glasses?_ In the middle was Alexia, holding each of the girls' hands. The sight of her made him touch his wedding ring with his thumb. He wondered if she would be wearing hers.

To say they were estranged would be an understatement. It wasn't easy to be married to him, Steve knew that, but the last few years had been especially hard. Alexia, fed up, had finally filed for a divorce. Steve, however, refused to give up on his family until he came home. Each time she sent him the papers, he sent them right back, unsigned. He knew she was going to great lengths to avoid him. Whenever he would video chat with the girls, she would stay out of the webcam's field of view. She never called him, she let the girls use her phone to do it. It would be impossible to avoid him now though, especially if he took the job offer he had received earlier that day from the governor. He would be home then, full time with his family. As far as he was concerned, there wasn't anything left to consider.

As the funeral ended, the group of people slowly began to thin out. Once Steve could get away from everyone giving him their condolences, he made his way over to the edge of the cemetery where his girls were waiting for him. Seeing him coming closer, Lucy broke away from her mother's hand, her little legs carrying her as fast as they could to her father. Steve picked up his walking pace a little to in order to get to her; it seemed that she had another flood of tears ready. Once she got to him, he knelt down to scoop her up, holding her tight as she started crying again.

"Shhh," he soothed her, her tears soaking the collar of his shirt. "It's ok baby." He noticed Alexia and Julia making their way over, hand in hand. As they got closer, Alexia let go and nudged Julia towards Steve.

"Hey sweetheart," he said, shifting Lucy's weight over into one arm, freeing his other to hug Julia. His arm still around her, he leaned over to kiss the top of her head.

"You're both so big," he said, smiling weakly as he squeezed them tighter. Seeing Alexia, he glanced quickly at her left hand; there was no ring. "Hey Lex."

"Hi Steve," she said quietly. With his arms full, she didn't even try to hug him. She did come close enough to kiss his cheek. "I'm sorry," she told him, rubbing his arm quickly before backing off. He didn't say anything back, he only nodded.

"Daddy," Lucy said, pulling away and wiping her nose on her arm.

"Hm?"

"Do you have to go back to work now?" she asked, sniffling. Steve felt his heart sink. Maybe Alexia was right, maybe he did put his work first and for too long.

"Nope," he assured her, smiling in an attempt to comfort her. "Not for a little while." Lucy smiled big, throwing her arms around him.

"Steve," Alexia cut in, seeming uncomfortable. "I know you probably have a lot going on right now…"

"What's up?" he asked, a bit confused. What was so hard for her to ask him? Did he really leave her feeling like she couldn't ask him for anything?

"I got scheduled for the night shift tonight," she explained; Alexia was a doctor at the local hospital. "Eight to Eight," she continued. "And I don't have anyone to watch the girls." John had always watched the girls when Alexia had the night shift.

"Of course I can watch them," Steve said, trying not to sound offended. _How could she think he would say no to watching his own daughters?_

"I just didn't know where you were staying," she went on. He had just landed in Hawaii that morning, he hadn't given it much thought. He seemed to have just assumed he would stay at the house, but then again, this was the first time he had been back since she filed the papers. Maybe being at the house was off the table now.

"Daddy!" Lucy said, excited. "You can stay over! And watch movies!"

"All right," he smiled, kissing her cheek; he squeezed Julia's shoulders. "That sound all right to you Jules?"

"I guess," she shrugged. Julia was always his quiet child, but she was even quieter than usual. Steve figured it was because she was older and understood more than Lucy; she knew enough to be mad at him.

"Ok," Alexia nodded. "Let's…" She trailed off, stopping herself from saying go home. "Get to the house."

* * *

Once he changed his clothes, Steve set out to make dinner while Alexia got ready for work. There wasn't much he knew how to make, so he was grateful to find a box of spaghetti and a jar of marinara sauce in the pantry. Julia sat at the table in shorts and a green tank top, reading; Lucy was spinning around in the living room, wearing her ballet clothes. Once the girls had changed out of their dresses from the funeral, Alexia explained to Steve that Lucy was going through a phase where she would only wear her black leotard and bright pink tutu.

"All right," Alexia said, coming down the steps in her pale blue scrubs. Steve and the girls were at the table eating. Lucy already had spaghetti sauce all over her cheeks.

"You in the ER tonight?" he asked, spinning spaghetti on his fork; he wasn't sure what else to say to her.

"Yeah," she nodded, grabbing her keys off the counter. "It's my weekend." She walked over to the table, leaning over to kiss Lucy's head, then Julia's. "All right, be good," she said, turning to go.

"Mommy!" Lucy scolded. "You forgot about daddy." Julia rolled her eyes at her younger sister; she didn't know anything. Steve looked at Alexia and smirked, amused. Alexia blew Steve a kiss, waved goodbye one last time, and headed out the door.

"Are you in a fight?" Lucy asked, slurping up a noodle.

"No," Steve shook his head, taking another bite. He caught Julia rolling her eyes again. "Careful," he warned. "Your face will get stuck like that." Lucy giggled; Steve smiled at her.

"I'm not stupid," Julia told him, pushing up her glasses. It was clear that she was mad at him for what was going on between the parents. Even though it was Alexia's idea, it was obviously easier to be mad at Steve because he wasn't home.

"She's not!" Lucy jumped in, not understanding at all what was going on. "Julesy is going to take 4th grade math! And she's only in 3rd grade!" Lucy sounded so proud of her big sister; Steve was stunned.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Steve asked her curiously; they had just spoken a little over a week ago on video chat. More importantly, why didn't Alexia think this was something important to tell him?

"You don't care," Julia grumbled, aimlessly pushing her food around with her fork.

"Of course I do," he insisted. "Honey, I am so proud of you." She didn't seem convinced.

"Are you and mom getting a divorce?" Julia asked bluntly. Steve, who had been taking a drink, started choking on his water.

"What's a dib force?" Lucy asked as Steve continued to choke. _Oh God_, Steve thought to himself.

"Julia-"

"Susie's parents got divorced," she continued.

"Julia," Steve said again, his tone more firm. He didn't need to get into this right now with his seven year old, in front of his daughter who still didn't know any better, without their mother around. "Not now." Julia pushed herself away from the table and started to walk off. "Julia-"

"I'm not hungry!" she shouted, stomping up the stairs. Steve sighed, resting his head in his hands as his elbows rested on the table. He couldn't believe this was happening right now. He looked over when he felt Lucy standing next to him and tugging on his shirt sleeve.

"Daddy."

"Hm?" _Please, don't let her ask was a divorce is again_, he silently begged.

"Can we watch The Little Mermaid?" she asked; Steve let out a huge sigh of relief.

"Yes."

* * *

Steve got up early the next morning, not having slept well the night before. He made eggs and sausage for breakfast, leaving it on the stove for when the girls got up. He was sitting at the table, sipping coffee and reading the paper; Alexia would be home soon from the hospital. He looked up when he heard someone on the stairs; it was Julia. She hadn't said a word to him the rest of the night before.

"Mornin' kiddo," he said, getting up to grab a plate for her. He tried to be cheerful, like nothing happened the night before.

"I'm a vegetarian," she warned as he placed two sausage links on her plate.

"Since when?" he asked, removing them before handing her the plate.

"Since forever," she said back, sitting down.

"You're seven," he noted, sitting across from her. "Forever's not that long." There she went again, rolling her eyes at him. _Since when did she start acting like a seventeen year old with all of this attitude?_ "Besides, you need protein."

"Eggs have protein," she said back. "And mom says it's ok. And she's a doctor."

"Uh huh," Steve nodded, sitting back in his chair. Sitting across the table, it felt like him and Julia were in a standoff. "Listen, honey-"

"Hi daddy!" Lucy said, skipping down the stairs. "Hi Julesy!"

"Hey sweetheart," he smiled, getting up to fix a plate for her too. Once they sat down, he decided he needed to give them the news. The angry look on Julia's face killed him and he knew Lucy was afraid he was going to leave at any minute.

"So," he started out saying. "I have some good news for you girls." They both looked up, interested; even Julia couldn't resist good news. "I'm getting a new job," he went on. "And I'll get to stay here, I won't have to go away anymore."

"Yay!" Lucy squealed, jumping out of her chair and running over to hug him.

"Really?" Julia asked, equally as excited. She had been so mad at her dad for leaving all the time, but now she didn't care; he was coming home. She got up to hug him too.

"Hey guys," Alexia said, coming in the front door. She smiled when she heard the girls squealing and laughing. "What's going on?"

"Dad got a new job!" Julia told her excitedly.

"And he can live here!" Lucy went on. "And we can have breakfast every day, and we can go swimming, and daddy can come to my ballet recital…" She was ready to list a million things.

"Wow," Alexia nodded, faking a smile. "That's great! But you know girls, you have to go get ready for dance practice. Susie and her mom are going to be here any minute to take you." The girls nodded, each kissing their dad on the cheek before getting up from the table to change. Alexia turned, going over to the counter to pour herself some coffee.

"Want anything to eat?" Steve offered; she shook her head, sipping on her coffee and leaning back against the counter. When she looked at him, it was like she was trying to burn holes through him with her eyes. "What?"

"Nothing," she said, giving him a fake smile. "Just wish you would have talked to me about this new job first."

"I thought this was what you wanted," he said. They kept their voices low, with the girls being right upstairs.

"You should have told me before them!" she insisted; she was quiet, but her tone was angry. "Now they think you're just going to move back in and we'll be this big happy family, and-"

"I never moved out," he reminded her. "I was away." Alexia rolled her eyes. "Lex-"

"Don't _Lex_ me," she said, using the same tone as him. From the kitchen, she finally noticed the living room and the couch; it was untouched. "Did you sleep on the couch last night?"

"No," he said, sounding confused. "I slept upstairs."

"In _my_ bed?" Lex asked, her mouth dropping open.

"_Our_ bed," he corrected her.

"Ha, wow," she said sarcastically, taking another sip.

"What?"

"Our seven year old gets this better than you, that's what."

"Yeah," he nodded, getting angrier now. "And what the hell is going on there? What, did you tell her it's all my fault?"

"She figured that one out on her own."

"Lex-" They both stopped when they heard the girls coming back downstairs, in matching black leotards, pink tights, and pink ballet shoes.

"Susie's mom is here," Julia said, leading her sister by the hand to the door. "Bye!"

"Bye!" Lucy shouted over her shoulder.

"Bye," the parents said at the same time as the door shut. Once the girls were gone, Steve knew the fight was really about to start. It had been months since they had actually spoken and things were about to boil over.

"I thought this was what you wanted," Steve reiterated after a long awkward silence, getting up from the table to stand on the opposite side of the middle counter from her. "I thought you wanted me home."

"You're right," she said sarcastically. "I sent you those papers as a threat to get you home. Good thing it took 8 months to work!"

"Lex, listen-"

"No," she interrupted him. "It literally took someone dying to get you back here."

"Don't say it like that, that's not fair."

"It's true! What, it has to take something awful to happen to us for you to come back?"

"That is not fair," he said again. "This is my job, all right? I've never once asked you to quit your job, what you love to do."

"My job doesn't put me into war zones and face to face with terrorists, for one," she started off. "I was afraid of my girls not having their dad!"

"Don't turn this into that," he told her. "Don't make this about your dad." Lex couldn't believe he took it there; Steve couldn't believe he did either.

"Fine," she said, crossing her arms. "Let's bring this back to you. Did you know we were almost there?"

"There?" he asked, confused. "Where is there?"

"Your dad's that morning!" she screamed at him. "I was taking the girls there to drop them off because I had work, but we were running late." Her eyes started welling up with tears. "We got there, and all these cop cars were outside…" She stopped to wipe her eyes. "Could you have lived with that?"

"No," he said quietly. He couldn't believe he had been so close to losing his whole family like that. "That's why I'm going to be here now though. That's why I-"

"And that's great," she said, going over to the kitchen drawer to search for something while she spoke. "That's really great, because the girls need you and I need the help. But…" She set the papers on the counter. "You can't stay here."

"You're kidding me," he said, getting angry all over again. "You're doing this now?"

"You can't avoid this anymore Steve," she told him. "It's a small island."

"Well, I'm not signing," he said, taking a seat back at the table. "And I'm not leaving."

Lex didn't know what else to say. She would open her mouth, but nothing would come out. Eventually, she stomped off, up the stairs, and to their bedroom where she slammed the door. Steve heard the door open again as she walked back down the upstairs hall.

"And I can't believe you slept up here!" she shouted down the steps before throwing his suitcase down them. She stormed back into the bedroom, slamming the door again before reaching for her cell phone.

* * *

Steve was standing at the counter trying to collect his thoughts. The papers were still there, practically staring back at him. He was snapped out of his thoughts by a knock at the door. He went to answer it, shaking his head at his suitcase lying at the bottom of the steps. He was surprised to see a cop car in the driveway; the man at the door wasn't in uniform, but in a shirt and tie, with his badge on his belt. Why was a detective here?

"Is everything ok?" Steve asked.

"I got a call," he explained. "About a domestic disturbance."

"From who?" Steve asked.

"Hi Danny," Lex said, coming down the stairs. She had changed out of her work clothes and into jean capris and a blue tank top; her hair was piled on top of her head in a messy bun.

"Lex," he nodded at her. "Everything all right?"

"Oh you gotta be kidding me," Steve said, looking between the two of them in annoyance. "A domestic disturbance?" Lex shrugged. "And what, you're on a first name basis with a detective, you called personally?"

"Our daughters are in the same dance class," Danny said, holding his hands up as if to say nothing was going on, which nothing was. "Julia and Grace are friends." He extended his hand for a handshake. "Danny Williams."

"Steve McGarrett," he said, shaking his hand. "You're not married."

"Uh, no, thanks for noticing?"

"Is something going on here?"

"No." "Maybe." Danny and Lex said at the same time.

"No," Danny repeated, giving Lex a look; she was obviously trying to start something with Steve and was using him to do it. "I have my own ex wife to deal with, I don't need yours too."

"She's not my ex-wife!" Steve said.

"Yes I am!" Lex said back. "And you need to get out of my house."

"She has a point-"

"I never signed," Steve said to Lex, interrupting Danny.

"Ah, well," Danny said. "Then I guess, it's still his house too-"

"Danny!"

"Yeah, ok," Danny said, getting annoyed as this was a waste of his time. "Do you either of you feel like your safety has been threatened in any way?"

"No," Steve answered; they both looked at Alexia.

"Ugh, no," she muttered, not getting the results she wanted; she never felt threatened by Steve though, she knew he'd never hurt her.

"Uh huh," Danny nodded, remembering arguments with his own ex-wife; at least she never called the police. "So, I'm gonna go, I'll see you later since I have to pick up the girls from dance." He turned to go, then stopped. "Can I suggest getting on the same page before they get back?" Steve nodded.

"Thanks Danny," he said, shutting the door. Danny shook his head, chuckling a little as he thought about Rachel. He could still hear them arguing.

"You were going to have me arrested?"

"I can't get you to leave otherwise!"

* * *

Alexia went back upstairs and sat on her bed. For whatever reason, she felt the urge to get up and look in her closet for the wedding album. It was in the very back, where she had hidden it behind several shoe boxes. Looking at the photos, she started to tear up.

Steve sat on the couch, shocked at what happened just now. Things were getting out of hand fast. How did things get like this? He wondered this as he took an old photo from his wallet; it was a wallet size photo from 10th grade homecoming, which was his and Lex's first date.

**Author Note: this is my first story so please review and let me know what you think! the next several chapters are going to be flashbacks from high school and college**


	2. Boy Meets Girl

**thanks so much for the reviews, favorites, and follows! they really meant a lot and i'm glad you all like the story so far. like i said, the next few chapters are going to be all flashbacks, enjoy and please let me know what you think!**

_Boy Meets Girl_

_1992_

"He's totally staring at you Lex!" her friend Sarah squealed excitedly. They were standing off to the side in the gym, waiting for the before school pep rally to start; that night was the homecoming football game. Alexia stood with the group of stretching cheerleaders, all of them in matching red sleeveless uniforms with white trim.

"Who?" the sixteen year old asked casually, adjusting the white bow around her long ponytail.

"Steve McGarrett!" Sarah exclaimed, her short blonde curly hair bouncing as she did. "The quarterback!"

Lex looked over her shoulder at number 50 who nodded his head at her, smiling. She laughed, turning back around to her friend. She knew who he was and she knew his type. Just a few weeks ago he was smiling like that at the girls' soccer captain Daisy, and before that it was his lab partner Maggie.

"He's still watching," Sarah said quietly as the girls lined up to do their cheerleading routine.

"So is everyone," Lex giggled. The music started and the girls launched into their dance routine. Lex couldn't help but look back at Steve; he was still watching her, smiling when he caught her eye. She knew who he was, she knew his type, but something about that smile was almost irresistible.

* * *

Once the pep rally ended, the students began to disperse for first period. Alexia, thankful that things were too busy in the gym for Steve or Sarah to catch up with her, made her way to her locker. She grabbed her lime green binder and her English textbook before closing the locker door. Standing on the other side of the door was Steve; she jumped.

"Scare you?" he laughed.

"I wasn't expecting anyone there," she explained, blushing a little.

"Steve McGarrett," he introduced himself.

"I know who you are," she said casually; he smiled. "Your sister Mary is on the middle school cheer team right?"

"Oh," he said, a little surprised; people knew him because of him, not because of his sixth grader sister. "Right, yeah." Lex nodded.

"I help coach them," she went on; Steve nodded.

"Can I walk you to class Lex?" he asked; she didn't know how he knew her name. "I know who you are too," he grinned. She laughed a little, starting down the hallway and he followed. "So, what color is your homecoming dress?"

"Excuse me?"

"I wanna know what color tie I should get, to match," he smiled at her.

"Uh huh," she laughed, stopping for a moment. "And how do you know I don't already have a date?"

"Because I asked your friend Sarah," he smirked at her. Lex could see her group of cheerleader friends on the other side of the hall, giving her a thumbs up; she shook her head.

"Well," she said, not ready to answer as they continued down the hallway. "I'm surprised you don't have a date already."

"I know who I want to take."

"You sure took your time asking," she laughed. "With the dance being tomorrow night and all." They stopped outside her classroom.

"Come on," he said, flashing her that smile again. "It'll be fun."

"I'm not so convinced," she smiled back. Steve wasn't used to girls saying no to him. He could walk up to almost any girl in that hallway and ask her, and they would immediately say yes. Why was he so fixated on this girl?

"What if we win tonight," he offered. "Then will you go with me?"

"That's too easy," she laughed. "You guys are undefeated, it's a pretty safe bet for you."

"Then what?" he asked; she thought on it, then smiled.

"Ok, so you have to win," she said. "But, _you_ have to score the winning touchdown."

"Done," he agreed; they shook on it.

* * *

That night at the game, almost everyone in town was there. Not only was it the homecoming game, but they were also playing their biggest rival. It was a close game, with each team trading touchdowns. Then, the opposing team took the lead. There was enough time left for one more play and they needed a touchdown to win.

"Nervous?" Sarah asked, bumping her shoulder playfully against Lex's; Lex rolled her eyes.

"Nope," she shook her head, even though her stomach was in knots. She wondered if she was nervous for the game or if she was nervous about the bet. Maybe it was a little of both. If she hadn't been watching it herself, she wouldn't have believed it. Steve had faked a pass to one of his teammates before running it into the end zone himself. They won the homecoming game, maintaining their undefeated status; and, of course, Steve had won the bet. Everyone rushed onto the field to celebrate. Lex was with the other cheerleaders when she felt someone tap her on the shoulder. Of course it was Steve, grinning as he came to collect.

"Red," she told him, before he could say anything. "My dress is red."

"I'll pick you up at eight," he smiled.

* * *

Steve knocked on the apartment door, standing outside nervously. He had never really been nervous to go on a date before. Then again, he also never had to do so much convincing and then win a bet to get a girl to go out with him. Maybe that's why he liked Lex so much, because she was different. That was also what made him nervous.

"Hi," Lex said quickly, slipping out the door and shutting it quickly behind her. It was like she didn't want Steve to see inside.

"Hey," he smiled. "You look nice." She was wearing a short red dress with thin straps; her hair was up, with a few stray curled pieces falling into her face.

"Thanks," she smiled. "You too."

"I got you these." He handed her red roses, that matched both her dress and his tie.

"Aw, thanks," she smiled back. "One sec." She opened the door back up, slipped in, and shut it behind her without giving Steve an option to look inside let alone come in. She set the roses on the counter before coming back out as quickly as before. "Ok, let's go!"

"Um, all right," Steve said, taking her hand and leading her towards the stairs. Why hadn't she invited him in? "You don't want me to come in?"

"It's not a big deal," she said as they made their way to the parking lot of the apartment complex.

"Are you sure?" he said, laughing a little. He had been to dances like this before and this wasn't the usual routine. "Moms always want a million pictures and dads want to interrogate-"

"My mom's passed out," she interrupted him, sounding casual about it. "And my dad's not around."

"Oh," Steve said awkwardly as they got into his car. "Well…um...is it ok if we stop by my house? My mom-"

"Wants a million pictures?" she finished for him, smiling. "It's ok, let's go."

* * *

"You don't have to feel bad," she said, breaking the tension in the car on the way to Steve's house. She had picked up on the fact that he felt awkward having brought up her parents. "It's really not that big of a deal. And, really, you didn't know." Steve nodded quietly, still feeling like he blew it. "Let's just have fun ok?" By then, they had pulled up and stopped in front of Steve's house. He held her hand again as they walked up to the door, only letting go to get the door.

"I'm back!" Steve called, leading Lex into the house. They walked by the living room, through the hall, to the kitchen where his mom was cleaning up from dinner.

"Hi!" she smiled big, when they came in. "You must be Alexia."

"It's nice to meet you Mrs. McGarrett," Lex smiled at her.

"Oh, honey, call me Doris," she laughed. "You know, I'm sorry we never got a chance to talk before at any of Mary's practices. She thinks you're just the greatest." Lex laughed.

"Mary's really sweet," Lex told her. "I love coaching her." They looked over when Steve's dad came into the room. Steve introduced the two of them and they shook hands.

"You look familiar," John told her as he released her hand.

"Honey," Doris told him. "That's Mary cheer coach."

"No, it's not that," John shook his head, thinking on it. Then, it dawned on him. "Your Mark's daughter." Steve noticed Lex shift uncomfortably, but she remained smiling. "How's your mom doing?"

"She's doing well," she nodded. "Thanks for asking."

"Lex!" Mary said excitedly once she realized she was here. "You look so pretty!"

"Thanks sweetie," Lex laughed, thankful that they stopped talking about her parents. She leaned over and hugged Mary. "How are you?"

"I'm good!"

"Have you been practicing?"

"Yes!" Mary said proudly; then, she looked to Doris. "Mom, can I show Lex the house?"

"Mary," Steve groaned.

"I'd love that," Lex said, looking over to Steve and giving him a sweet smile. Mary lead Lex by the hand out of the kitchen and proceeded to show her every room in the house. When she went upstairs, Lex glanced into Steve's room. It was a typical teenage boy's room, with clothes on the floor and an unmade bed. She found herself blushing as she looked at his bed. Downstairs, Steve was actually grateful that Mary dragged Lex away. This way, he could asked his dad what he was dying to know.

"Dad," Steve said to him. "How did you know Lex's dad?" John let out a heavy sigh.

"We were friends in high school," he explained. "We lost touch for awhile, he went to the mainland for school, but came back with Megan and two kids." Megan, he assumed, was Lex's mom; he also remembered her brother, Seth, who had graduated a few years ago. "It's a real shame," he went on. "He was killed in Iraq last year."

Steve felt bad all over again about asking about her family. She had lost her dad and her mom was obviously having a hard time with it. He was sure it didn't help that her brother had left for college somewhere on the mainland.

"Hey," Lex said, coming back into the kitchen. You would never have guessed this awful thing had happened to her, as she still had a big smile on her face. "You ready to go?"

* * *

At the dance, both seemed to forget the bit of awkwardness that they had experienced before. Meeting up with a group of friends, they had a great time at the dance. Steve couldn't take his eyes off of her, she was so beautiful. She was different from the other girls. She wasn't hanging on everything that he said, not that she wasn't interested. He could tell she was being herself though, that she wasn't trying to act like whoever she thought he wanted her to be.

After the dance, a few of their friends invited them to an after party. Steve declined, saying he was tired and should probably just go home. Alexia didn't really have an opinion either way, but was surprised he didn't want to go to the party. She was also surprised when they continued by her apartment complex without stopping.

"Um," she laughed. "Where are we going?"

"You trust me?" he grinned at her; she laughed.

"Of course," she nodded. "Where are we going?"

"My favorite spot on the whole island," he said, continuing down the road. They got further away from the main part of town and eventually, the road turned to dirt. They were heading to what seemed to be the middle of no where.

"We're here," he said, stopping the car and turning it off. Alexia didn't see what the big deal was or how this could be his favorite spot. He had pulled off the road and parked in the grass.

"Ugh!" she said in disgust, hitting his arm. "Did you bring me up here to-"

"You wish," he said, getting out of the car. "C'mon." Alexia rolled her eyes, getting out of the car. Once she was out, she saw the "big deal." You could see the entire island from up there. It was the perfect view in the most quiet secluded spot.

"Wow," she said, taking in the lights below, the ocean in the distance.

"And you thought I wanted to make out," he teased her, hopping up to sit on the hood of his car. She stuck her tongue out at him before hopping up to join him, both of them leaning back against the windshield. They were quiet for awhile, listening to the crickets. Steve felt her hand lightly brushing his; it gave him goosebumps.

"I was home alone," she said, breaking the silence. "When they came to tell us about my dad." She sighed heavily, sitting up a little; Steve remained laying against the windshield, listening intently. "And, I guess they couldn't just tell me without my mom being there? Because I'm a minor or something? So we waited an hour and a half till she got back from work." Steve nodded. No one he knew had ever lost a parent, so he wasn't sure what was appropriate to even say right now.

"I knew too," she went on. "I knew because of how they kept looking at me. Looking at me like,_ that poor girl just lost her dad_." She looked over where he was laying. "Kinda like the look you're giving me now."

"I'm sorry," he said, taking her hand and squeezing it. "You know you don't have to tell me about this."

"I know," she nodded. "But...I want to."

"Ok," he said quietly, waiting for her to continue.

"And the whole time," she started again. "I just kept thinking, maybe it's something else. Maybe, he's hurt and he's coming home. But then my mom came home and...well it wasn't that." She looked over at him again. "I've never told anyone about that." He tugged gently on her arm, pulling her down to lay against him, kissing her head.

"I'm glad you did." They laid there again in silence for a few moments, before she propped herself up to look at him.

"So," she said lightly, seeming like she wanted to change the subject. "Tell me something no one knows about you." He shook his head. "Why not?"

"Because," he said, propping himself up on his elbows like her. "Anything I say won't be as..._big_." She shook her head at him.

"Biggest fear," she prodded.

"Nope."

"Come on!"

"No, no way."

"Steve-"

"Clowns, all right?" he said, stopping her; she exploded into laughter.

"What?" she said, unable to stop laughing. "You're..." She started laughing harder. "Afraid...of clowns?"

"It's a serious issue," he said, laughing with her. "Really though, the guys would never let me live that one down." She smiled, leaning in to kiss him once.

"Well, your secret is safe with me."

**Author's note: let me know what you think! next chapter is more of the high school years**


	3. Inseparable

**Author's note: thanks again so much for the favorites, follows, and reviews! it really means a lot to me to know that you're all enjoying the story. i get so nervous every time i post so it makes me so happy to know that you like it! enjoy this next chapter :)**

_Inseparable_

_January 1994_

It wasn't long after homecoming that Steve and Alexia were officially boyfriend and girlfriend. And, not long after that, they were together almost every moment of the day. Shortly after homecoming, it was Halloween and she convinced him to watch the movie _It_ with her. She had never watched a movie with a guy before and have him be the one that was more afraid than she was.

By Thanksgiving, her brother was home from UCLA and he wanted to have his own version of a meet the parents dinner. They had tried to get Alexia's mother to come, but she was having one of her bad days and wouldn't get out of bed.

Things still weren't easy around Alexia's home. But, the couple had only been together a few months when things started to go wrong for Steve's family as well. Shortly after the new year, his mother was killed in a car accident. Much like Alexia's mother, John didn't know how to handle her death or how to talk to his kids about it. He had wanted to send them both to the mainland, but he later decided that the worst thing to do would be to take them away from their home.

It was now a year since the accident, a year and a half since the young couple started dating. They were enjoying the last few days of their winter break laying at the beach. Alexia was trying to act like she wasn't overly anxious waiting to hear back from colleges that she had applied to.

She had never really given much thought of where she wanted to go for her undergraduate, only that she wanted to go to Boston for medical school. Now that Steve had said that he was going to Annapolis though, she had her heart set on going to the University of Maryland. It was only a half an hour away from where Steve would be. Plus, Sarah's sister was graduating from there this year and promised to sublet her apartment to Alexia. It was the perfect situation; she would be near her boyfriend and she already had a place to live. All she needed now was her acceptance letter.

"You're gonna get in," Steve assured her, turning onto his side to face her. She looked over at him from her beach towel, shading her eyes with her hand.

"I wasn't thinking about it," she lied.

"Uh huh."

"Ugh," she groaned, sitting up. "Why haven't I heard from them yet?"

"You'll hear from them," he told her, running his hand on her back.

"What if my application got lost in the mail?" she asked worriedly.

"I'm sure it's not lost," he told her, propping himself up. "You got in everywhere so far. UCLA, UCSD, Seattle..."

"West coast schools," she interrupted him. "_West_ coast. I haven't heard from any _east_ coast schools."

"Well," he said, smiling at her. "The east coast is farther away. So, maybe it just takes mail longer to get here?" He said this laughing.

"Steve! That's not funny!"

"Oh come on," he said. "Relax." She didn't seem convinced. "Come on," he said, standing up now. He grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet. "Let's take your mind off of it."

"Steve," she whined. "I don't want to swim."

"Come on," he said, gently pulling her arm.

"No," she protested. "Just leave me."

"I can't," he laughed, before lifting her over his shoulder and carrying her towards the water. She was laughing and squirming to get away. "What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't make you have some fun?" And with that, he tossed her into the water before jumping in after her.

"Steve!" she squealed as they both surfaced. He pulled her over to him, holding her while they floated in the gentle waves of the ocean. "You're the worst."

"So are you," he grinned, kissing her. Once they pulled apart, he could tell she was still thinking about it. "We'll be fine."

"But what if-"

"No," he stopped her. "Don't."

"Yeah, ok, but what if-"

"Lex," he warned.

"I'm just trying to say that what if-" She was stopped again by him dunking her in the ocean. When she came back up, he was smiling. "All right," she agreed. "Fine. We'll be fine." She then splashed water in his face to get back at him. "Jerk."

* * *

After the beach, Steve and Alexia stopped by her place so she could grab a few things before they went back to Steve's house. These days, she spent most of her days, as well as nights, at his house. She had been staying in the guest room, but John wasn't blind to the fact Steve would sneak down there every night when they thought he was asleep and then sneak back before he thought that he was up. In any case, she preferred time with Steve's family over time with her mom and they loved having her over. As time went by, Megan only seemed to become more withdrawn from her daughter.

"You ready?" Steve asked, getting up from the couch in the tiny apartment as Alexia collected the rest of her things.

"Oh, hold on," she stopped him. "I want to grab a sweatshirt." She went over to the small hall closet and reached for the top shelf. As she tugged on her blue hooded sweatshirt, a stack of envelopes fell off the top shelf and onto the ground.

"What are those?" Steve asked curiously, coming over as she picked up the letters. She didn't say anything, only handed them to him. The return address of each letter was a different school; Ohio State, NYU, University of South Carolina, University of Maryland... These were all the east coast schools she had been waiting to hear back from.

"MOM!" Alexia shouted, marching over to her mother's shut bedroom door and inviting herself in. Steve sat back down, envelopes still in hand. He couldn't hear much of the argument. The few things he heard included_ I couldn't handle you being that far away_ and_ you had no right to keep these from me_. The bedroom door swung back open so fast, it made Steve jump.

"Don't start playing concerned parent now!" Alexia shouted. "You don't even know I'm gone half the time!" She then went over to her own room, slamming that door. She reemerged with something a little larger than an over night bag. Steve didn't question her, he only took the bag for her and carried it to his car. They sat in silence on the way to his house, while Alexia continued to fume.

"Is it ok if I stay with you?" she finally asked.

"Your bags are already in the trunk," he said lightly as he parked the car in the driveway. She looked at him seriously. "Of course you can stay."

They didn't say another word about it. John was all right with Alexia staying at the house. He knew that she was good for Steve and he was glad Mary had another girl around the house to talk to. There was no doubt awkward tension in the air however, with steam still practically coming out of Alexia's ears. She hadn't even thought about opening any of her letters. Later, once John was in his office and Mary was asleep Steve brought the letters to the guest room, sitting on the bed next to Alexia and placing the stack of letters between them. She raised her eyebrows at him.

"Open them."

She reached for the letter from Maryland first, since that was the only one she was really concerned about. Taking a deep breath, she opened up the envelope and pulled out the letter. Steve studied her face for a reaction as she quickly read over the first few lines.

"Oh my God," she said, a smile spreading across her face. Steve immediately smiled as well, knowing it was good news. "I got in!"

"Baby, that's great!" he said, leaning over to kiss her. "I'm so happy for you." He pulled her close again to kiss her, this time more deeply. "I told you everything would be fine."

"It's better than fine," she smiled, collapsing onto the bed next to him. "It's perfect!"

* * *

_August 1994_

Alexia had most of her things packed and ready to go to Maryland; she was leaving the day after tomorrow for school. Steve would be leaving a week after she did. She had to go early to sign the apartment over from Sarah's sister. She was also looking forward to having an extra week to get to know her two roommates.

"I thought we were going to dinner," she laughed as Steve turned from the road and parked in the grass. This place was all too familiar; it was where they had come that night after their first date.

"You remember when I brought you here the first time?" he asked as they both got out of the car; they had been there a few times since, on days they felt the need to get away.

"I do," she grinned, hopping up on his car to sit next to him. "That was when you told me about-"

"Don't," he laughed. "We said we would never talk about that." She laughed too.

"So, what are we doing here?" she asked.

"You're leaving soon," he told her. "And, who knows when we'll be back here next." Steve knew that he would be home for holidays but Alexia planned on spending hers in California with Seth.

"Next summer I guess," she shrugged. "Seems so strange to be leaving here." She smiled. "I'm glad we're both leaving though."

"Me too," he smiled back. "I love you Lex."

"Love you too," she said, kissing him.

* * *

_September 1994_

They knew they were both going to be really busy now, but they were also only a car ride away from each other. A week after classes started, Alexia and her new roommates, Emily and Jill, were settling into their small three bedroom apartment. They had spent that Saturday afternoon trying to find a coffee table for the living room. They were still in the process of unpacking and there were boxes everywhere.

"I can't believe that you're from Hawaii," Jill was going on as they unpacked the kitchen together; Jill was a Maryland native. She was the same size as Alexia, but with long blonde hair and green eyes. "I mean, why, why would you _ever_ come to Maryland from Hawaii?"

"Seriously though," Emily agreed, being from Pennsylvania herself; she was the smallest of the three roommate. She had blue eyes like Alexia, but her hair was pale red and very short. "You could never get me to leave Hawaii." Then, there was a knock at the door.

"Come in!" the three girls said at once. Alexia was excited to see Steve coming in.

"Hey!" she grinned, going over to kiss him. "I'm glad your here. Babe, these are my roommates Jill and Emily. Girls, this is my boyfriend Steve."

"Hi!" the girls said in unison.

"Hey," Steve smiled at them.

"Emily is a business major and Jill is pre-law," Alexia continued. "And Steve's going to Annapolis."

After they finished introductions, Steve offered to help move some things around the apartment. Mostly, they had him move the heavy boxes that they had been leaving for last.

"And _that_ is why I came to Maryland," Alexia grinned once he was in her room and out of earshot, placing plates in the cupboard.

"Very nice," Emily nodded, high fiving her.

"Yeah," Jill nodded in agreement. "Where do I get one of those?"

Alexia finally finished up in the kitchen, making her way into her room where she found Steve having dozed off on her bed. She smiled, getting into bed to nap with him. Everything was absolutely perfect.

**Author's note: let me know what you think! next chapter will be more of them in Maryland :)**


	4. Nothing Can Touch Us

**Author's note: thanks as always! the reviews, favorites, and follows mean so much! i'm so glad you all like the story so much. it makes me smile! enjoy this next chapter! :)**

_Nothing Can Touch Us_

_1996_

It had been a few weeks since Steve had seen Alexia. Even though they weren't that far away from each other, they were both really busy with school. He finally had a free weekend, so he decided to drive up to surprise her at her apartment. It was Friday and, when his last late class let out at five, he immediately got in the car and drove up to her apartment. When he got there, he ran into Jill outside the building; she was carrying several grocery bags.

"Need some help?" he offered, taking some of the bags from her. He noticed the bags he had taken were filled with ice cream, tissues, and movie rentals; Jill's bags had two bottles of wine.

"I'd just turn around and leave while you still can," she warned as they walked up the stairs towards the third floor of the building.

"Why?" Steve asked, confused. _What was going on here?_

"You'll see," she shrugged, opening the door to the apartment. They walked in to the apartment, setting the bags on the counter. Steve saw Alexia sitting on the couch with Emily who was curled up in a ball with her head in Alexia's lap. There were tissues everywhere, on the floor, the coffee table, and the couch.

"Look who's here," Jill said as she started to unpack the grocery bags; Emily's head perked up.

"Jason?" she asked, looking into the kitchen; they saw that it was Steve. "Oh, it's just you." She tossed an empty box of tissues in his general direction, but it didn't come anywhere close. Alexia wanted to get up to hug Steve, but Emily's head was still in her lap.

"Sorry," she mouthed at him, then nodded her head over at the empty bottle of wine on the coffee table to show that Emily had been drinking; out of that bottle, Alexia and Jill had each only gotten a glass.

"They broke up," Jill mumbled under her breath, putting the ice cream in the freezer.

"Oh," Steve nodded, not sure what to do. He had only had one friend go through a break up, his roommate Nate. Even then they had just gone out, had a beer, then called it a night. He had no idea what to say to Emily though.

"Um...I can come back tomorrow?" he offered, figuring he had disrupted some kind of girls' night.

"Let me ask you something Steve," Emily said, getting up from the couch and going to sit at one of the bar stools at the counter. "Why are guys stupid?" Alexia had to bite her lip to keep from laughing; Jill also snorted as she gathered the wine glasses.

"Um," he said nervously. "I don't...I mean I don't really know Em."

Steve had gotten to know Alexia's roommates pretty well since last year and he liked them both. He had also gotten to be good friends with their boyfriends since they usually overlapped weekends when they would visit. Ethan, Jill's boyfriend, had gone to University of Maryland but graduated and was now working in Virginia; he had always thought Jason, who went to the University of Baltimore, was a pretty cool guy. He wondered what went wrong.

"What happened?" Steve asked. He glanced over to the couch where Alexia was waving her hands wildly and shaking her head no.

"Oh I'll tell you what happened," Emily told him, slurring a little.

"Oh boy," Jill muttered, pouring a fourth glass and handing it to Steve. "You'll need this."

"So what kind of guy," Emily said, ignoring everyone else. "Dates a girl for almost a year, then dumps her on the phone, then when she goes to see him has some slut named Bridget in his room?"

"Why would you go see him?" Steve asked. Apparently that was the wrong thing to ask as he saw Alexia shaking her head again.

"Because I love him!"

"But he sounds like a jerk," Steve said, confused; it seemed so simple to him.

"Thank you!" Emily said, agreeing with Steve. "He is." She started tearing up. "Why am I so sad?" she said, laying her head on the counter and starting to cry.

"Oh Em, it's ok," Alexia said, coming over to hug her. "Really, it'll be fine."

"Lex is right," Steve agreed, feeling like all he had done before was make things worse. "I bet Bridget's not even that pretty." Jill pushed his arm, shaking her head at him now. What did he say that was wrong this time?

"She's a fashion major!" Emily told him, like it was something he should have already known. "And she gets modeling jobs all the time."

"Ok Em," he said, finally leveling with her. "Clearly, I don't know what I'm saying. All I can do for you is kick Jason's ass." She seemed to consider it. "Anyway, I'll just see you girls tomorrow ok?"

"You can't go," Emily said, ready to cry again. "Because Lex really misses you and now I ruined your whole weekend like a bad roommate." She started sobbing. "I'm such a bad roommate!"

"Well, what if we started the movie now?" Jill interjected. "Then, it'll be over by 9 and Lex and Steve can go do whatever they want." She looked at Steve. "Does that sound ok?" Her tone implied that he had to say yes unless he wanted things with Emily to get worse; he looked at Lex who shrugged.

"Oh yeah," Steve nodded, grabbing the plastic bag that contained the movie rental. "Definitely. I love..." He trailed off when he saw the title. "Pretty Woman." Alexia had to bite her lip again to keep from laughing.

They didn't make it through the movie before Emily fell asleep. They paused the movie so that they could get her to her bedroom. Jill grabbed her books and left for the library for some late night studying since she had an exam on Monday. Alexia went to take the movie out.

"We can watch the rest," Steve offered. "If you want." She looked at him curiously, then started laughing. "What?"

"You _like_ this movie," she said, laughing more.

"Lex-"

"You love Pretty Woman," she continued to laugh, pressing play before settling back on the couch with him. "It's ok, I'll lock that one up with your fear of clowns." He laughed a little as he put his arm around her, curling up on the couch to watch the rest of the movie.

"Thank you," she said, looking up at him.

"For what?"

"Trying with Em," she said, laughing a little. "And for being a good boyfriend." He smiled, kissing her.

"Anything for you babe," he assured her, squeezing her shoulders. "Anything for you."

* * *

_Fall 1997_

It was senior year, with both Alexia and Steve being as busy as ever. Alexia was studying for her MCATs to get into medical school, which kept her pretty busy. Steve was on his way to the apartment again to surprise Alexia, this time for her birthday. When he got there, the apartment was the quietest he had ever seen it. Emily was sitting on the couch, but the tv wasn't on; she had papers spread all over the coffee table. Jill had done something similar to the kitchen counter where she was sitting, her books all over the place.

"Looks like finals week in here," Steve said lightly as he let himself into the apartment. "Too bad it's only September."

"LSATs," Jill said, pointing at herself. "GMATs," she pointed over her shoulder at Emily; then she pointed at Alexia's bedroom door. "MCATs."

"Good luck," he said as he went over to Alexia's room.

"Shhh," Emily said, waving him off. He shook his head, letting himself into Alexia's room. She was sitting on her bed, with her back to the door and her headphones on. He smiled as he tip toed over to the bed, grabbing her around her waist as he sat down on the bed with her. She jumped, pulling her headphones off.

"Steve!" she laughed, scolding him. "You scared the crap out of me."

"Happy birthday," he grinned, kissing her; she seemed confused.

"What day is it?" she asked, looking over at her alarm clock which displayed the date and time. "Wow," she laughed at herself. "Thanks babe."

"When was the last time you left this room?" he asked curiously; he knew how intense she got when she started studying.

"If I only knew," she shrugged.

"Well, as cute as you are studying," he smiled at her; she made a face. "I think you need to take a break."

"Baby," she whined. "I can't. The test is in a week and-"

"One night," he stopped her. "Just for one night, with your boyfriend, for your birthday."

Alexia eventually gave in, enjoying a night off with Steve. He left the next morning and she immediately started studying again. He admired her for all her hard work, but he just wished she didn't get so intense and worry so much.

The next three weeks she seemed especially distant when he would call her on the phone. He understood the first week because she was still studying, but the two weeks after that she seemed like she was avoiding him. He knew that she was worried about getting her scores back, but it seemed like something else was really bothering her. He wanted to drive up to see her, but he had a few very busy weekends ahead of him at school and could not.

It was late and he was still partially awake, worrying about what was going on with her. He thought he heard someone at the door of his apartment, but brushed it off. After all, it was close to three in the morning. He became fully awake though when his bedroom door opened; he was temporarily blinded by the light streaming in from the small hall.

"Your girl is here," Nate grumbled sleepily, moving so she could go into the room and going back to his own room.

"Lex?" Steve asked, confused as she turned on the bedroom light. She shut the door behind her, going over to sit on the bed next to him. "What's going on? Are you all right?"

"Um," she said hesitantly. "Yeah?" It came out sounding more like a question than an answer. "I, uh, got a 30 on my MCATs."

"Is that...good?" he asked; she nodded. "So, you came at three in the morning to tell me you nailed your MCATs?" She was quiet. "Babe, what's going on?" he asked worriedly.

"I didn't want to tell you on the phone," she started off saying. "And I knew you couldn't come up because of school. So I was just going to wait, but then I couldn't sleep..." She was talking super fast, which was something she did when she was upset.

"All right," he nodded, keeping calm on the outside but she was starting to scare him. "Well, you're here now." He reached over to stroke her hair. "You can tell me."

"I was going to stop at the pharmacy," she went on quickly. "But they're all closed."

"Are you sick?" he asked, confused. _What was going on?_ She started crying.

"I'm late," she told him, wiping the tears away. "Really late, two weeks." Now that she had said it out loud, she was starting to panic. "And I mean, yeah, sure I knew we'd be here eventually. But not yet, not this soon. I can't be pregnant right now." She couldn't talk anymore as she started sobbing.

"Come here," he told her. He pulled back the blankets, allowing her to climb under them with him. He held her close while she kept crying into his chest. "Hey, it's all right." He kissed her forehead. "We'll be all right." He pulled back from her a little, wiping the tears off her cheeks. "Have I ever been wrong about us being ok before?"

"No," she sniffed; he kissed her gently.

"Then trust me," he assured her.

He wasn't so sure he trusted himself though, remaining wide awake after she had finally fallen asleep. A baby? He didn't know the first thing about being a dad. Everything would change starting tomorrow if it turned out she was pregnant. What would they do? They would have to move in together. Would they get married? Steve went through classes the next day in a daze. He couldn't concentrate on anything, all he could think about was getting back to the apartment where Alexia was waiting for him to come back. On his way to the apartment, stomach in knots, he stopped at the pharmacy to get her a pregnancy test. When he got back he found her sitting on his bed, reading.

"Steve," she said when he came in.

"Me first," he stopped her sitting next to her. "Ok?" She nodded. "I have no idea what's going to happen. I mean, I wasn't expecting...this."

"Babe-"

"Just let me finish," he said. "I've been freaking out all day. I'm not going to lie to you and pretend that it doesn't scare me too." She nodded. "But, the more I think about it, would it really be so bad and scary? This was all in the plan anyway, right? Just not this soon...or in this order I guess."

"Babe," she stopped him, smiling; he was being so sweet. "I really think I should talk now."

"I'm almost done," he assured her. "I want you to know that it's going to be ok. I'll be here, no matter what. You could move in. And, you remember my Uncle Joe? We were talking about jobs once I graduate, so there's that. And if you wanted, we could get married."

"Steve-"

"Or we could wait," he went on. "Or we could move back to Hawaii, or we could go live Boston and you could still go to school if you wanted. I just...wanted you to know it's really all right. So...I think that's all," he said. "Uh, your turn." She kissed him first.

"You are so good to me," she told him. "And I was so happy to hear you say all of those things. But...I'm not pregnant."

"What?" Steve asked, confused.

"After you left for class this morning," she started to explain. "I...wasn't late anymore." She smiled weakly. "I guess if I just waited one more day I wouldn't have come down here and freaked you out so bad."

"I wasn't freaking out that badly," he said, trying to brush it off though he did let out a sigh of relief.

"Baby," she said, laughing a little. "You're sweating." She reached for his hand. "We're ok."

"I know," he nodded, pulling her hand up and kissing it. "Come here." He pulled her close, the two of them laying together on his bed, grateful that things could remain the way they were for now.

"So," she said, tilting her head up at him. "What's the plan?"

"You wanna know?" he grinned at her; she nodded. "I'm looking at jobs at Naval Intelligence. So I'll be in Washington for awhile and you'll be in Boston." She stuck out her lip and made a sad face at him. "I know," he agreed. "But, then you'll be done with school. And, we can move in together. And..." He stopped to kiss her. "Other stuff."

"Other stuff?" she smiled at him; he grinned back.

"I can't give away everything."

* * *

_February 1998_

"Would you sit down?" Steve asked Alexia. She was pacing back and forth across the apartment. It was Saturday afternoon; Steve was sitting on the couch with Ethan, watching a hockey game. Being from Hawaii, Steve never really got into watching hockey, but since football season was over it was something to watch.

"You're making me nervous," Ethan nodded in agreement.

"Let her alone," Jill said from the kitchen counter. She was looking at the paper for apartment listings in Virginia. Since she had gotten accepted to law school at the University of Virginia, her and Ethan had planned to move in together. "You remember a few weeks ago when I was waiting for my letter?"

"Yeah, you were a real joy to be around," Ethan mumbled.

"Excuse me?"

"Love you," he smirked at her; Steve laughed, then looked to Alexia.

"Lex, it's going to be fine," he promised. "I'm sure you got in. Here." He nodded towards the pizza box on the coffee table that him and Ethan had been splitting. "Eat some pizza."

"I don't want to eat pizza," she groaned, sitting at the counter finally with Jill. "I want Emily to get back here with the mail."

"She probably stopped to flirt with that new guy downstairs," Jill told her. "Matt something or other."

"Why does she wanna go to Boston so bad?" Ethan asked quietly. "Aren't you gonna be working in Washington or something?" Steve nodded.

"It's where her parents met," Steve answered. Back at the counter, the girls were continuing their conversation about school.

"You've already heard back from other schools, right?" Jill asked; Alexia muttered something to herself. "What was that?"

"I didn't apply anywhere else," she repeated, laying her head on the counter; she couldn't believe she had done that.

"Why would you do that?" Steve asked; she turned around on her bar stool and glared at him.

"What happened to you being so sure I'd get in?" she asked with raised eye brows. Ethan nudged Steve's arm.

"Don't answer that," he warned. "Just play dead or something." Before they could continue arguing, Alexia jumped from her seat when she heard the door open. Emily was back, with a stack of envelopes and magazines in hand, with some guy she assumed was Matt.

"Hey everyone," she smiled, coming in to the apartment. "This is Matt from downstairs. Matt, this is Ethan," she said, pointing. "Steve. And these are my roommates Jill-"

"Give me," Alexia said, taking the mail from Emily. She had been on edge all week waiting to hear back from Boston University.

"And Alexia," Emily went on.

"It's not here," Alexia said, taking her seat back next to Jill and laying her head back down. She felt Steve's hand rubbing her back.

"It'll get here Monday," Steve told her. "You want a beer Matt?"

"Sure, thanks," he said. "Did you say your name was Alexia?" She kept her head on the counter, but nodded. "I think I got some of your mail the other day by mistake." She lifted her head up, glaring at him.

"What?" she asked, her teeth clenched.

"Yeah, like two or three days ago," he nodded. "I kept forgetting it on the counter. I think it happened because you guys are 301 and we're 103. Plus, my roommate's name is Alex." He laughed. "It's kind of funny."

"Hilarious," she said, completely unamused as she got up from the counter and quickly left the apartment.

"Where's she going?" Matt asked curiously.

"Your apartment," Steve answered, handing him a beer. With the next period of the game about to start, the guys all settled back on the couch to watch. Emily joined Jill in looking at the paper, pointing out apartments that she thought were nice. Moments later, Alexia came back into the apartment, letter in hand.

"Is that it?" Steve asked, coming over to where the girls were. Alexia had set the letter on the counter and was staring at it.

"Mhmm," she nodded, continuing to stare.

"Well," he said. "Aren't you going to open it?" She shook her head. "Are you kidding me?"

"I can't," she shook her head. "Not yet. I'm nervous." Steve shook his head at her, taking the letter from the counter to open it. "Steve!" He waved her off as he started reading it.

"Aw man," he sighed.

"What?" she asked anxiously. "Is it bad?"

"Yeah," Steve nodded sadly. "Do you know how much money I'll be spending on gas driving up to Boston to see you?" Alexia's mouth dropped open.

"What?" she asked, stunned.

"You got in babe," he grinned at her. Next, Alexia let out a high pitched squeal which made every one else either jump or cover their ears as she jumped up to hug Steve. "I'm proud of you."

Alexia knew it was going to be harder now that they were further away from each other, but she also knew that it was ok. They would try to see each other as often as they could. And, in any case, they were both going to be super busy. It almost worked out better this way because with both of them being so busy because they would understand and not feel neglected. Everything was working out just like it was supposed to.

**Author's note: hope you liked it! the next chapter i think is going to be post-medschool and when things start to be a little less perfect. thanks for reading and let me know what you think! :) **


	5. Together Forever

**thanks as always for the favorites/follows/reviews! they mean a lot and i'm so happy that you all enjoy the story so much! enjoy this next chapter :) **

_Together Forever_

_2002_

Alexia walked out of her last final, feeling the relief wash over her. The last four years had been insane, with constant studying or working at her internship at the hospital. And, of course, there was managing to find time to either visit Steve or have him come visit her. He was busier than ever with his career in the Navy, but she was proud of him and she understood.

She walked out of the large brick building where her final was, wearing Steve's dark blue _Navy_ sweatshirt. It was obviously large on her, skimming the bottom of her cut off shorts and making it look like she wasn't wearing any bottoms. She knew how she must look right now; she had barely slept and was running on caffeine. She touched her hair which was piled on top of her head then jerked her hand away, disgusted at the grease. When was her last shower? When did she last touch her make up? She looked down and realized her flip flops where two different colors. She shook her head at herself; it had been a long week, but she was finally done with medical school.

She planned to go home, shower, then call Steve. It had been a few days since she last talked to him, since studying had consumed her. It had actually been weeks since she had seen him, but that was about to change in a week because he was coming for her graduation. As she made her way across campus towards the parking lot, she let her mind wander to Steve.

She wondered what they were going to do now that she was done with school. The last four years were harder than when she was an undergraduate at Maryland, because at least then they were only a half hour away from each other. But, at least while she was in Boston, they were still on the same coast and the same time zone. Now she was getting ready to go back to start a job in Hawaii though. She had enough of "exploring" and wanted to settle back down in the islands that she loved. How would Steve feel about that? Wrapped up in her thoughts, she almost thought that her car wasn't her own. She thought this because of the handsome man leaning against the side of it. _Wait_...

"Steve!" she squealed, running to him and throwing herself at him, wrapping all her limbs around him; she almost knocked him over.

"Hey babe," he chuckled, regaining his balance as he hugged her back. She held on to him tight. "Hey, come here." He was trying to get her to pull back a little bit, just enough to kiss her.

"No," she protested, burying her face in his shoulder; she was suddenly aware of how she looked. "You can't look at me."

"Lex, come on," he laughed, putting her down. He took a step back and studied her. "Yeah, on second thought, I'll just come by your place later..."

"Steve!" she said, pushing him playfully.

"I'm kidding!" he laughed, reaching for her hand and pulling her close. "I'm kidding," he repeated, kissing her on the lips; Lex was smiling ear to ear.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I thought I'd surprise you a week early," he grinned, kissing her again.

"Well," she said, leaning back against her car. "I have a surprise for you too." She decided to tell him about the job offer now rather than later.

"Oh yeah?" he asked, leaning next to her. "What is it?"

"Remember that interview I had a few weeks ago?" she reminded him. "In Honolulu?" Steve immediately figured out what she was trying to tell him and smiled wide.

"You got the job?" he asked excitedly; she nodded. "Baby, that's great!" he said, hugging her around her waist and picking her up to kiss her.

"Yeah?" she asked as he set her back on her feet.

"Yeah!" he nodded enthusiastically. "That's awesome Lex, I'm so proud of you. It's perfect."

"Perfect?" she asked curiously. She had been worried about what her taking a job in Hawaii would mean, especially if he planned to stay with Naval Intelligence. Maybe he was leaving? Would he do that? He loved his job.

"I'm leaving Naval Intelligence," he said, confirming her suspicions.

"But Steve-" She started to say but he stopped her.

"I was going to surprise you with this too," he went on. "I was hoping you'd get the job in Honolulu, because that's where I'm going to be based out of. I'm joining the Navy SEALS."

"You'll be in Hawaii?" she asked, excitement oozing out of her. After eight years they would both finally be in the same place again.

"Well, I'll actually have to stay on the mainland for a few months for training," he explained. "And I'll have to travel for assignments-"

"You'll be living out of Hawaii?" she asked again, interrupting him.

"Yes," he laughed. "And-" He was cut off again by her jumping up into his arms again and kissing him.

* * *

Two weeks later, Alexia was back in Hawaii while Steve remained on the mainland for the first part of his training. She missed him a lot and the months felt like they were dragging on, but she reasoned that it was a lot like while they were at school. Soon enough, he would be back in Hawaii and they would be able to start their life together.

At first, while she searched for a house, she stayed with John. Buying a house on her own stressed her out, but John was there to help her through the loan process and would go to the bank with her. He also looked at houses with her and checked out things that she herself never would have thought of. She was grateful to have him there and he loved to help her out. His own daughter hadn't been back to Hawaii in so many years and he always adored Alexia.

She took pictures of the house on her phone and sent them to Steve as she moved in. Since it was summer, her brother Seth came to help her move in; he was a teacher in Los Angeles and had the summers off. He planned to stay with her for awhile. Even though he had grown up in Hawaii and knew how safe it was, he still didn't like the thought of his little sister living in a house by herself.

"Maybe you should get a dog," Seth suggested as they carried boxes upstairs to what would be Alexia and Steve's room. They dropped the boxes on the bed and started to pull out the clothes inside.

"I'm allergic," she reminded him; he sighed.

"I'm just worried about you living alone Lex."

"It's such a bad neighborhood," she nodded in sarcastic agreement as she took her clothes over to her dresser. Another part of moving that had stressed her out was picking out furniture for their house. "I'm pretty sure the old lady next door has a meth lab in her basement." He rolled his eyes at her. "Hey," she said, tossing a t-shirt at him. "Why are you being weird?"

"Are you sure this is what you want?" he asked her; she scrunched up her eye brows in confusion.

"I mean I hope so?" she asked, thinking he was talking about the house. It was a nice house, similar in size to John's house where Steve grew up. The only draw back was that it didn't have the big yard that stretched down to meet the water; instead, they were closer to the center of the island. "I just signed my life over to pay for this house for the next 30 years." Seth shook his head.

"I meant is he what you want," Seth clarified; Alexia rolled her eyes at him now.

"Ok, about 10 years late on the_ I'm the big brother and I don't like him_ speech," she informed him, taking out more clothes to fold.

"It's not that I don't like him. I just didn't think you would actually go to Maryland," Seth explained. "And, when you did, I knew you'd still end up in Boston. I kind of figured it wouldn't work out, you'd meet some doctor guy there, you'd get married, and then pop out a bunch of little Patriots fans or something." She raised her eye brows at him.

"Thanks for the relationship support bro," she fake smiled at him.

"I'm just worried," he tried telling her. "You remember what mom was like when dad was away?"

"Whoa," she said, holding up a hand to stop him. "I'm _not_ mom."

"You remember what she was like when he died too," he went on.

"I'm surprised you remember what she was like," Alexia snapped at him. "You left the first chance you got."

"I had to go to school," he said defensively.

"Because the University of Hawaii doesn't have an education program?" she asked; she then shook her head. "You've never acted like this about him before, what's going on?" Seth wouldn't answer; she studied his face. "You know something."

"I just want you to be prepared for what you're getting into," he told her; she shook her head.

"You're lying," she told him. "You know something."

"I'm not supposed to tell you."

"Seth."

"I had dinner with him two weeks ago," Seth finally broke; Steve was in San Diego for his training and had asked Seth to come. "I guess with dad gone, he felt like he should ask me for permission."

"Permission for what?" Alexia asked, not getting it.

"To marry you," Seth clarified; Alexia's mouth dropped open.

"SETH!" she shouted, throwing the clothes she had been folding at him. "You're not supposed to tell me that!"

* * *

Knowing the big secret wore at Alexia for the next few months. Steve still wasn't home so she knew he wasn't going to ask anytime soon, but whenever he called to talk to her she had to act natural like she didn't know anything. By Thanksgiving, Steve was home for good as long as he wasn't on assignment. Alexia was on edge, waiting for him to ask at any moment. Three weeks went by and he hadn't asked, almost making her crazy. She decided to stop thinking about it, otherwise he would know something was up. Close to Christmas, they took a drive on one of their shared days off up to their favorite spot. She hadn't thought about it once in the last few days and certainly wasn't thinking about it now as she leaned back against the windshield of his car, the sun warming her face as she closed her eyes.

"Lex."

"Hm?" she asked lazily, turning her head to look at him. He wasn't laying on the hood next to her anymore though, he was kneeling on the ground in front of her. Her brain was screaming _Oh my God_; she knew what was coming and could tell that he was really nervous.

"I love you so much Lex," he told her. "You're the only girl I've ever wanted to be with." She started sliding down the hood of the car to get closer to him. "And I know things aren't always going to be easy, but I want to make it work with you." She was finally sitting on the bumper of the car, directly in front of him. "Will you marry me?"

"Yes!"

They were married before the New Year. With Steve's schedule and unpredictable assignments, they didn't have time to plan a big wedding. Instead, they had a small courthouse wedding, his father being their only witness; it was all they needed though. He wore his uniform and she wore a short, white lacy sundress. Their wedding announcement was a picture on her phone which she sent to her brother and her roommates from college.

* * *

_2003_

Things were going well, but she obviously miss him while he was away. The time seemed to balance when he was home and when he was away though. He would be gone for a few weeks, but then he would be home for a few weeks. It was summer again, with Steve being gone. This time though, Alexia knew it was only for a week as he had gone to visit his sister in California. She would have gone too, but the hospital was keeping her pretty busy. She was at lunch in the hospital cafeteria with her good friend Malia who was also a doctor there. She had made friends with Malia initially because she was dating one of Steve's old friends, Chin Ho; they had just gotten to know each other better through work.

"How long's Steve gone for?" Malia asked, taking a bite of her salad.

"Just a week," Alexia told her, picking at her own food. "He'll be back for his birthday." Malia nodded.

"Are you feeling ok?" she asked; Alexia shook her head.

"I've been having this nausea the last few days," she said. "My luck I probably picked up something weird in the ER."

"Or you're just pregnant," Malia said casually, taking another bite. As Alexia thought about it, her eyes got wide. She hopped up from the table, grabbing Malia's hand and dragging her with her. "Where are we going?"

Alexia had brought her to the other side of the hospital where the maternity ward was. Next to the maternity ward was a clinic for women to come for their doctors appointments. She pulled Malia into one of the small rooms.

"I don't think we're supposed to be doing this," Malia told her as she hopped up on the table.

"You've done ultrasounds before right?" Alexia asked. "And, excuse me, but we're doctors here." Malia laughed, giving in because she knew that if she were pregnant she would want to know in that second too.

* * *

Steve arrived home on his birthday a few days later. He found Alexia in the kitchen, making dinner at the stove. He crept up behind her, hugging her around her waist. She smiled, leaning back against him as he kissed her neck.

"Happy birthday," she told him.

"Thank you," he said, leaning forward to kiss her cheek. He noticed that she was making chili and cornbread, his favorite. She turned around to kiss him again, grinning as she pulled away. She had that smile on her face where he knew that she was dying to tell him something.

"Yes?" he asked, laughing.

"Can I give you your birthday present?" she asked, bouncing a little.

"Ok," he laughed as she leaned around him to the island counter, grabbing a yellow envelope. He expected to find a birthday card inside, but instead it was a picture that was mostly black with some gray blurs in it.

"What's this?" he asked, unsure of what he was looking at.

"This," she said, pointing at a small grayish white blur on the sonogram. "Is our baby."

"Really?" he asked, smiling big; she nodded.

She had never seen Steve so excited before as he picked her up to kiss her. He couldn't stop kissing her, or telling her how excited he was. She was excited too, but in truth she was also really nervous. She knew Steve would be a great father, there was no question about that. She was worried, however, about how often he would be around during her pregnancy and once the baby was born. She shook those thoughts from her mind however as he continued to tell her how happy he was and how he couldn't wait to tell everyone.

**Hope you liked it! Please let me know what you thought :) **


	6. Not Always Easy

**authors note: thanks as always! i got a lot of positive feedback on the last chapter so i'm glad to know you all enjoyed it! i'm a little nervous in posting this chapter because it's where all the cuteness sort of fades out and the bad stuff starts...so be very patient with me! lol this is the last of the flashback chapters, next up is back to present day so there's a lot to cover here (this chapter actually ended up being a lot longer than i had expected lol). enjoy and please let me know what you think! :) **

_Not Always Easy_

_2003_

Marriage wasn't always going to be easy, Alexia knew that. She had never imagined it would be like this though. While, at first, it seemed pretty fairly balanced between when Steve was home and when he was gone, it started to shift more towards him being away most of the time. He had been home intermittently during her first trimester, but completely absent during her second one and the first part of her third. She was frustrated, but it was so hard to be angry with him when she spent most of her time worrying about him. When he wasn't home, she barely ever got a full night's sleep. At this point, it had been two weeks since they even got to speak; she was due in a month and a half.

Tonight was one of those nights where she wasn't sleeping much. She was laying wide awake, wondering what part of the world her husband was in tonight and what he was doing. It frustrated her that she never knew where he was going or for how long; it was even worse that she couldn't always get in contact with him because of whatever classified assignment he was on this time. She finally started to doze off, purely from exhaustion; she barely heard him enter the room. Alexia woke up though when she sensed someone kneeling by her side of the bed.

"Hey," Steve said quietly, stroking her hair.

"You're home," she smiled as he kissed her; she forgot that she had been mad at him.

"I'm sorry baby," he sighed. Guilty didn't even begin to describe how he felt."And...baby." She smiled, taking his hand.

"Feel this," she said, resting his hand on her stomach; the baby was kicking.

"Oh...wow," he said, truly amazed. Things had changed so much since he had been gone. The last time he had seen Alexia you could barely tell she was pregnant if she was wearing baggy clothes. She had been keeping him updated though, sending him sonograms from her doctors visits. "So, everything is going ok?"

"Mhmm," she nodded sleepily. "Doctor says everything is perfect."

"Do you know if it's a boy or girl yet?" he asked curiously.

"No," she shook her head. "I didn't want to find out without you." The baby kicked again. "But, I'm pretty sure it's a boy," she laughed. "I think we have a little place kicker on our hands."

"Yeah?" Steve asked, smiling at the football reference.

"Yeah," she laughed.

"Because I was thinking," he went on. "If it is a boy, we could name him Mark."

"Really?" she asked, thinking about her dad.

"Mhmm," Steve nodded, getting up so he could get in bed with her.

"Well, we can find out in a few days at my next appointment," she told him as he settled into bed next to her. With her stomach being so big now they couldn't sleep how they normally did with her head on his chest; instead, he laid behind her with his arm over her waist. He rested his hand on her stomach, smiling every time he felt the baby kicking.

The next few days were perfect. Steve was thrilled to be home regardless, but with Alexia being seven and a half months pregnant he was extra happy to be around. He couldn't believe he was going to be a father in a few weeks. He felt his stomach sink though a few nights later when his cell phone started ringing. It was his phone he had strictly for work and, with it being after one in the morning, he knew it was going to be important.

He grabbed the phone quickly to keep from waking up Alexia. They had a new assignment and it was a pretty big one; they were being assigned to go after the Hesse brothers who were major arms dealers. He knew what it meant for his team to be selected for this kind of assignment. He also knew though that this wasn't the kind of case that would pan out quickly. Knowing that his wife was pregnant though they assured him that they were starting a preliminary investigation and they should only be gone a few weeks. With there being nothing left for him to do, Steve hung up and turned to wake up Alexia.

"Hey baby," he said, gently shaking her shoulder.

"Hm?" she asked sleepily.

"I gotta go," he told her sadly.

"Uh huh," she nodded, her eyes still closed.

"I'll be back in a few weeks," he promised. "Way before the baby gets here."

"Gotcha," she told him, giving him a thumbs up; he leaned over to kiss her and with a heavy heart got up to leave. "Love ya."

"Love you too."

The next morning, Alexia wasn't really sure what had gone on the last night. She vaguely remembered Steve telling her that he had to leave, but thought that it might also have been a dream. She noticed that his work phone, the phone she hated to hear ring, was gone from his bedside table; his bag was gone too. Hearing someone downstairs though, she thought that maybe he said he didn't have to leave till morning. Maybe it was him downstairs in the kitchen; she could smell someone cooking as she made her way down the steps. Sadness overcame her when she saw that it was John in her kitchen, making her pancakes.

"Mornin' sweetheart," he greeted her; she smiled weakly. "Heard you got another doctor's appointment today?"

"Yeah," she said quietly, taking a seat at the kitchen table. Steve must have called John to tell him he was leaving. John had been helping out a lot since Steve hadn't been home.

"Steve will be back soon," he assured her, flipping a pancake one more time before moving it to a plate. "Just a preliminary thing. Says he..." He trailed off when he heard Alexia crying; when he turned around he saw that she had her head on the table and was sobbing. He went to sit next to her, rubbing her back and promising her that everything was fine.

* * *

Things took another turn though a few weeks later. Three weeks before Alexia was due, she went into labor. What was more stressful was while Alexia was at the hospital, John wasn't able to reach Steve at all. He had been outside trying Steve on his phone again when Malia came out to join him.

"Everything's ok," she promised him. "She's a little underweight, but that's fine. What they were really worried about was her lungs but they seem to have developed fully. They'll just have to keep them both here for awhile to make sure she doesn't get an infection." Malia smiled. "Congratulations on being a grandfather." John smiled a little.

"Just gotta find the father now."

He finally heard from Steve two weeks later. Unable to bring himself to tell him over the phone, John told Steve he would pick him up at the airport. Steve didn't think anything of it, figuring Alexia couldn't drive. He met his dad outside the airport, his dad coming up to the curb with his car.

"Hey dad," Steve smiled, getting into the passenger side. "Thanks for picking me up." John nodded, pulling back out and leaving the airport. "I can't believe I was gone so long," Steve went on. "And Lex is due any day now. How is she?"

"Steve," John sighed.

"What?" Steve asked worriedly, immediately fearful because of John's tone.

"Everything's fine," John told him right away. "They're home now."

"She had the baby already?" Steve asked, feeling sick now knowing that he had missed it. "When?"

"Two weeks ago," John started to explain.

"Two _weeks_?" Steve asked, shocked.

"She came early," he told him.

"She?" Steve interrupted; John nodded, smiling now.

"You have a daughter," John smiled. "Julia Nicole."

"Pretty," Steve sighed, leaning back in his seat. He couldn't believe that he had missed his daughter being born or that she had come so early. He knew how scary it was to have a baby that early and regretted not being there for Alexia, even though there was nothing he could have done. "Julia, like Gram?" Steve asked, remembering his grandmother. He had been named after his grandfather and Julia had been his wife.

"Mhmm," John nodded, pulling up to Alexia and Steve's house and stopping the car. "Better get in there and meet her."

Steve nodded, thanking his father again and taking his bag up to the house. He went inside and found the house to be quiet. Checking the downstairs first and finding it empty, he made his way upstairs. There wasn't anyone in their bedroom, so he started checking the spare bedrooms. He found her in what she had made the nursery. Alexia was curled up on an air mattress on the floor; Steve guessed it was because she didn't want to leave the baby alone. He peaked his head in the crib, seeing his daughter for the first time.

She was so tiny and perfect as she laid there fast asleep. Julia started squirming a little, waking up from her nap. Steve smiled when she blinked her eyes open, looking around with blue-green eyes that matched his.

"Hey there," he said softly. He reached his hand into the crib and she wrapped one of her tiny hands around one of his fingers. Behind him, he could hear Alexia shifting on the air mattress.

"You should pick her up," he heard her yawning. "Let her get to know you." Steve gently picked Julia up from her crib, careful to support her head. He had been nervous at the thought of fatherhood, but that went away now. She looked extra small as he had her cuddled up in his big arms.

"Glad you're home," Alexia said, getting up and kissing his cheek quickly. She then turned to leave the room without another word.

"That's it?" Steve asked out loud out of confusion; she didn't even seem happy to have him back.

"I just...can't right now Steve," she told him. "Hold her, rock her back to sleep. I just..." She trailed off, shaking her head as she left the nursery. Steve sighed, knowing everything that had been going on must have been wearing at her; he didn't blame her. Once he got Julia back to sleep, he laid her back in her crib before going to find Alexia. She was downstairs, sitting quietly at the table. Going over to her, he kissed the top of her head; she barely responded.

"Hey," he said, pulling over the closest chair to be next to her. "Lex, come on."

"Don't tell me to come on," she said, wiping at her eyes before tears could come out. She continued to stare at the table while he was turned to face her fully. She swallowed hard, knowing nothing she was about to say was going to be easy for him to hear.

"I'm mad at you," she said quietly; Steve didn't respond. "And I know it sucks to have me say that, but it's true. I've been so genuinely pissed off at you. And I know I have no right to be." Finally, she turned to look at him. "I know that I'm not the only military wife in the world that worries about her husband or that's ever had a baby by herself."

"Lex-"

"But it doesn't change how scared I was," she cut him off. "Julia wasn't even supposed to be here until next week, but here she is. Do you even know, I mean, can you even try to understand how terrifying that is?"

"I was scared when my dad told me what happened," he tried telling her.

"What, and two minutes later you found out it was ok?" she asked. "I sat in the NICU for two weeks just praying that she didn't get sick from being so tiny."

"You think it's easy for me?" he asked her. "Do you think that I-"

"No, I know that," she said, pushing her seat away from the table and getting up. She couldn't sit still anymore, she was feeling anxious and had to pace; Steve remained seated. Guilt overwhelmed her as she was telling Steve all of this, but she knew that she couldn't keep it locked up anymore.

"I know I'm not the only one this affects. And I know we're not the first couple that's gone through this," she told him a she couldn't keep herself from tearing up anymore; Steve felt his heart rip, knowing that the job he held was making her cry.

"I don't sleep," she told him. "When you're not home, I can't. Because every time I close my eyes I see you, in some random part of the world, and each time something even worse-"

"Hey," he said, getting up now and going to her. He held her shoulders, making her look at him. "Lex, don't. We're all right."

"This isn't one of those times where you can just promise me it'll be all right," she told him, moving out of his grasp. "I'm not blind to how the world is and I know what it is you guys are out there doing."

"I don't want you to worry like this," he told her. "You don't have to be scared."

"My dad told me those exact words before he left for Iraq," she said, wiping at her eyes again and trying to pull it together.

"That's not fair," he said.

"It's not," she agreed. "And I know it's not black and white. But...I can't just act like everything is fine when it's not."

"I'm sorry," he told her, feeling defeated; everything she said had killed him. "But I don't know what you want me to do." Upstairs, they heard Julia had started to cry.

"I guess I don't either," she said, moving past him to go upstairs.

* * *

_2006_

After that, they never really talked about Steve's work again. Alexia had known that it was not fair for her to confront him like that, but she also knew that she couldn't bottle those feelings up. She knew that he worked hard and she was proud of him for everything that he did, but there was part of her that wished he would just come home; she felt guilty thinking those things because she knew that he wished he got to be home too. He had missed a lot of Julia's childhood so far, but she sent him videos and pictures of every big moment. For now though, he was actually home for several weeks; the trail on the Hesse brothers had run cold.

Today, they were over at John's home. Alexia was inside, resting on the couch. She wasn't feeling well again, similar to how she felt before she had found out she was pregnant with Julia. This time, she already knew she was pregnant and was contemplating on how to tell Steve. Steve was down in the water, playing with Julia who was three years old now while John sat in the sand. Hearing her phone ringing, Alexia got up from the couch to grab it from the kitchen counter. The caller ID showed that it was one of her close friends, Monica. They got to be friends because Monica had married Steve's old roommate, Nate; they had a son a year older than Julia named Tyler.

"Hey Mon," she answered. "What's up?" She listened for a moment. "Oh no..."

Julia was so excited to have her dad home and was ecstatic about him teaching her to swim. Steve couldn't stop smiling as he held on to her little hands, encouraging her to kick her feet. She laughed as she made a big splash with each kick.

"Good job," he laughed, bringing her in to hold her and kiss her cheek. Alexia smiled sadly at the sweet scene as she came down to the water. She had no idea how to tell Steve about the news she just got. She didn't know how to tell her husband that his best friend had been killed; she also didn't know how to squash the feelings of terror she had, knowing that Nate did the same thing as Steve.

"Hey mommy," Steve said, getting Julia to look. "Are you gonna get in?"

"Mommy, come swim!" Julia told her.

"Maybe in a little bit," Alexia promised. "Babe, can we talk?"

"Sure," he nodded, knowing something was wrong from the look in her eye. He got out of the water, carrying Julia with him. "Here," he said, setting Julia next to John. "Is it ok if grandpa swims with you for a little?"

"Ok!" Julia nodded enthusiastically, taking John by the hand and leading him back to the water. Steve smiled at his daughter before following Alexia up from the sand and into the grass so they were out of earshot.

"What's going on?" he asked her.

"It's Nate," she started to explain.

* * *

A few days later, Steve and Alexia were back on the mainland, in Nate's native Tennessee. They had left Julia with John so that they could go to his funeral; he had been killed while he was away on an assignment. Alexia hadn't been at a military funeral since her father's and she hoped to never have to go to one again. It made her fears for Steve all the more real. As another wave of nausea hit her, she subconsciously placed a hand on her stomach; she still hadn't told Steve about the new baby. After the funeral, everyone gathered at Nate and Monica's home. Seeing that Monica was overwhelmed from all the people offering their condolences, Alexia excused them both to the kitchen.

"Thank you," Monica said, taking a deep breath as they entered the kitchen alone. It was the only room that wasn't filled with people. From where they were, Alexia could see Steve kneeling to talk to Tyler. "I felt like I couldn't breathe in there." Alexia nodded in understanding, even though she never wanted to know what Monica was feeling in this moment. While she hadn't brought it up to Steve about him coming home in awhile, she was starting to think about it again. This magnified the fearful feelings she had of losing him.

Later on, Steve and Alexia left for their hotel; they had an early flight back to Hawaii the next morning. They were silent as they entered the room, starting to change out of their clothes from the funeral. Seeing the look on Alexia's face, Steve knew what she wanted to talk about.

"Please," he begged her. "Not today, not after my best friend's funeral." She nodded, remaining quiet. Not much else was said as they got ready for bed, climbing under the covers and turning off the light.

"I couldn't stop thinking about Julia," he told her, his throat tight. "When I saw Tyler." Alexia nodded, looking up at him from where she had be laying against his chest.

"Do you ever think about just coming home?" she asked.

"Every day I'm away," he told her. "But...there's still something..." She knew he couldn't explain it and she knew the situation wasn't purely black and white. Whatever he was working on now she knew was what he had been working on since Julia was born; she knew that he couldn't quit now.

"I know," she nodded, kissing him. She wanted to scream at him, beg him to quit and to come home. This wasn't the time for it though, she understood that. They laid there again in quiet, Alexia listening to his heart beating.

"Steve."

"Hm?" he asked, almost asleep.

"I'm pregnant again."

"Yeah?" he asked, shifting so he could be on his side to face her. Even in the dark and after what had happened today, she could see him smiling.

"Yeah," she nodded, kissing him again. _And I don't want to do it alone_, she wanted to say but didn't. It was good to see him smile and she didn't want to ruin that.

* * *

_Thanksgiving 2009_

As with Julia, Steve wasn't there again when Lucy was born. At least this time, Lucy came on time and the pregnancy didn't cause Alexia any extra stress. She sent Steve pictures of Lucy as a baby. They had picked the name Lucy because back when Monica had been pregnant with Tyler, Nate had told Steve that if he had a daughter he always wanted to name her after his mother.

Steve came home as often as he could, calling when he couldn't make it. The girls both adored him, but Julia was starting to get fed up with not having her dad at her dance recitals and soccer games. Lucy was still too small to understand and was ecstatic whenever her father was home. Tonight, as they were at John's for Thanksgiving, he hadn't called ahead to let them know he was coming home; he decided to surprise them. He wasn't going to be able to stay long, but he had bought himself a few days away from his assignment to see his girls.

"DADDY!" Lucy said excitedly, bolting from the table when she saw Steve coming into the house. He picked her up and hugged her tight.

"Hey sweetheart," he said, kissing her cheek.

"Daddy, guess what," she said, pulling back.

"What?" he asked curiously, carrying her over to the table where everyone was eating. He stopped to greet Alexia, giving her a quick peck on the lips. She gave a small smile, happy to have him home. In the last year though, they seemed to be arguing more as she had become more persistent in trying to get him to come home for good.

"Julesy lost a tooth today!" she told him. Steve had given Julia the nickname Jules, and whenever Lucy tried to say it she changed it to Julesy.

"No way," he said, turning to Julia. "Can I see?" Julia flashed him a quick smile before closing her mouth again. She was currently mad at him for missing her championship soccer game last week.

"Wow," he said enthusiastically. "Hey Jules, your mom emailed me a video of your soccer game. You were great!"

"Thank you," she said quietly, taking another bite of her food. He looked to Alexia who only shrugged.

That night after dinner, Steve and Alexia took the girls home. Lucy couldn't stop talking, updating her dad on everything from her starting dance with Julia to what mommy did at work last week to looking for seashells with John. It was nice for Steve to hear, especially since both Julia and Alexia were hardly speaking. He knew Alexia would have something to say though once the girls were asleep; these days, she always did and it always ended in a fight.

"I know what you're thinking," he told her once they were alone downstairs, the girls in their beds.

"Do you?" she asked, crossing her arms. _Here we go_, Steve thought.

"I'm _trying_ Lex," he told her. "I really am. I did everything to get back here for Thanksgiving." He knew that it was hard for the girls when he was away for months at a time, but he didn't feel like Alexia understood that it was hard for him too; it was like she thought he didn't care when he went away.

"Try harder," she said back. "You get to see them excited when you come back, you don't have to deal with their broken hearts every time you leave."

"Don't," he said to her. "You know how much I want to be here with you and the girls. I can't keep having this fight with you."

"Me either," she said. "I won't ask you to quit again."

He took that as a promise to let him continue on as things were because she knew how much his job meant. He didn't realize though that she had meant it as a threat. A few days later, he had to leave to get back to work. He promised the girls he would be back soon and he felt that he would be back soon enough. The Hesse assignment he had been working on since Julia was a baby was finally coming together; they would catch them soon.

Two weeks later, the guys were getting ready to head out of the country again. Before they left, they sorted through what was left of the mail they had received. Steve smiled when he saw the large brown envelope with his name on it. Whenever he got big envelopes like that, it typically meant that the girls had drawn him pictures. He felt like his heart was ripped out when he saw what the papers were.

_Petition for Divorce_

**Author's note: so now we're up to the point of the divorce...like i said, i'm really nervous about posting this! lol please let me know what you thought! :) **


	7. The New Plan

**author's note: thanks so much as always! you're all so amazing and i love to hear what you think so thanks so much! now it's back to present day and there are going to be some tie ins with the series lol but i'm going to try to keep it mostly family based and very loosely around what goes on in the show. hope you like it! :)**

_The New Plan_

_2010, Present Day_

Alexia groaned, laying back on the bed. She couldn't believe how crazy life had gotten in the last few days. She also couldn't believe she was actually insane enough to call the police on Steve. _What had she been thinking?_ She sat up when there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," she said, hiding the wedding album under the pillows. She didn't want Steve to know she had been getting sentimental. He opened the door a crack, waving the papers like a white surrender flag. "Steve."

He came into the room, sitting on the edge of the bed; she was sitting in the middle, legs crossed. They were quiet for a moment, neither of them sure where to start. Rather than say anything first, he handed her the papers, signed. Alexia sighed heavily as she set them to the side. Never in a million years did she think that they would be here. She didn't want to say anything else about the papers. _What was she supposed to do, thank him?_

"So," she said awkwardly. "Um...what's your new job?" Steve laughed a little.

"Really?" he asked her; she shrugged. "New task force under the governor," he explained. "Investigating guys like the one that killed my father."

"Starting with him I'm assuming," she cut in; he nodded. "Steve."

"Hm?"

"I'm not," she said hesitantly, unsure of how she wanted to word it. "Trying to...throw this on you, I guess? But..." She sighed. "Does what happened to your dad have to do with you? Because-"

"You want to know if you should be worried," he filled in for her; she nodded. "Let me put it to you this way," he told her. "I'm not moving out till I catch him."

"You should talk to Danny," she told him, trying to keep a straight face._ Would someone be after them next?_ She didn't want to be married to him anymore, but she certainly did feel safer knowing Steve was going to be staying at the house for now. "He's the one they put on the investigation." Steve nodded. From the window, he noticed Danny's car was back; he was dropping off the girls from dance.

"Speaking of," Steve said, nodding his head towards the window. "What do we tell the girls?"

"Oh God," Alexia groaned, falling back against the pillows. She honestly hadn't even thought about that, considering she hadn't expected Steve to sign the papers on his first day back.

They went downstairs as the girls came running in, still excited from their dad's news earlier that morning. Steve stepped out for a moment, asking Danny to meet him at his father's home the next day. He asked him if he would be willing to work on this task force with him, explaining to him that he could already tell that he was a good cop. He had also talked to Chin earlier that day about the possibility of working together. When Steve came back inside, Alexia had the girls in the living room on the couch. She was looking at him, unsure of where they should even start.

"What's going on?" Julia asked curiously as she sat next to Lucy on the couch. Their eyes were so big and innocent.

"Um, girls," Alexia said gently. "Things are going to start being...a little different around here."

"How?" Lucy asked.

"Well," Steve said, coming to Alexia's aid. "In a couple days, daddy's going to move into grandpa's old house."

"Why?" Lucy asked. "You don't want to live here?" Steve's heart broke.

"You _are_ getting a divorce," Julia accused them.

"Sweetie," Alexia said, trying to calm her.

"What's that?" Lucy asked.

"They're not going to be married anymore!" Julia yelled at her, getting up and stomping towards the steps.

"Julia," Steve said, going to stop her, but Alexia shook her head. They heard her slam her bedroom door shut. Now they were left alone to explain the situation to their four year old, who already liked to ask a million questions.

"How come?" Lucy asked curiously. She didn't seem too upset, mostly confused.

"Well," Alexia said, sitting on the edge of the coffee table so she could sit in front of Lucy. "Sometimes...being married is really hard."

"Nuh uh," Lucy shook her head at her. "At pre-school, I got married to Tommy, and it was lots of fun."

"Tommy who?" Steve asked, standing next to Alexia.

"Steve, she's _four_," Alexia said to him. "Focus." He came to sit on the table's edge next to Alexia.

"Honey," Steve told Lucy. "It's just that, mommy and daddy won't live with each other anymore."

"But how come?" she asked. Steve looked to Alexia like this was her cue.

"Grown up reasons," Alexia told her.

"But," Lucy said sadly. "How will I get to see daddy?"

"Well," Steve told her. "You and your sister can come stay with me sometimes." Alexia nodded in agreement. She wasn't going to fight Steve on seeing his kids; they had gone long enough without him.

"Whenever you want," Alexia added. "And daddy can come visit here too, whenever he wants."

"I still don't get it," Lucy shook her head.

"Me either kid," Steve muttered; Alexia nudged him, shaking her head.

"Can I go change now?" Lucy asked; Alexia nodded.

"Send your sister down please," she added as Lucy went up the stairs. "That went...ok right?" Steve went to respond, but stopped when Lucy called down the steps.

"She's not up here!" Lucy shouted.

"What?" Alexia called back in concern, both her and Steve hurrying up the stairs to Julia's room; the window was open. Steve stuck his head out and could see where flowers on the trellis had fallen off. She must have climbed down the side and run away.

"Unbelievable," Steve mumbled. "Seven and she already knows how to sneak out."

"Steve-"

"I'll go find her," he assured Alexia. "Stay here with Lucy."

* * *

Steve drove around for an hour, looking in all the places he thought Julia might be. He checked the beach, the park, the school; he didn't have any luck. He was becoming more and more nervous as the time passed. As a parent, having your child missing was the worst feeling imaginable. It didn't help that there was someone out there after his family. He was about to call Alexia when his phone started ringing; he didn't recognize the number.

"Hello?"

_"Steve,"_ the voice on the other end said. _"It's Danny."_ Steve forgot he had given him his number earlier when he asked him to work together.

"Listen man, I-"

_"I take it you're out looking for Julia?"_ Danny interrupted him.

"How did you know that?" Steve asked as he stopped at a red light.

_"I'm an amazing detective,"_ Danny smirked. _"Plus, my ex called me when she caught Grace trying to sneak Julia in."_

"Partners in crime," Steve commented.

_"Seems like it,"_ Danny said, laughing a little._ "I picked her up, I can meet you back at your house?"_

"Sure," Steve said, turning to go home. "Thanks man." Steve finally breathed a sigh of relief, knowing his daughter was safe. He got back to the house almost the same time Danny and Julia pulled up.

"Inside," Steve told Julia, his tone serious. Now that she was safe, he was upset with her for running away. She rolled her eyes at him as she went up to the house. "And would you stop doing that?" he said, mostly to himself as she was already on the porch and ready to go inside. Steve sighed heavily, running his hands through his hair.

"I, uh, take it the news didn't go so well?" Danny asked.

"That one," Steve said, pointing his thumb over his shoulder at the house. "Is going to be the end of me."

"If her mom isn't first," Danny added.

"Man," Steve said, leaning next to Danny against his car. "I mean, you've been here, right? It's gotta get better." Danny turned to look at him.

"I'm here because my ex got re-married," Danny informed him. "And, now a days, it seems like whatever I do Step Stan one ups me."

"You've never comforted someone before, have you?" Steve asked sarcastically.

"Not my strong suit," Danny said, patting his shoulder. "Nah man, you'll be all right. You got two great kids. Plus, Lex was telling me she wasn't even going to fight you on custody. Which, trust me, is huge." Steve nodded in agreement, thanking Danny again before going back inside. Alexia had made Julia sit at the table, not letting her out of her sight.

"What do we do?" Alexia asked him quietly.

"Take down that damn trellis for one thing," Steve said in annoyance; she gave him a serious look. "Let me talk to her." Reluctant at first, Alexia decided to let him handle it on her own. Steve went to sit across from the table from Julia again like he had earlier that morning. Again, it felt like a stand off.

"I know you're mad at me," he told her, getting her to look up at him. "And, I get it. I haven't been around enough. I'm sorry about that." She didn't seem convinced. "Can you at least let me try?"

"Ok," she nodded quietly. She didn't know what else to say, knowing she was in trouble for running away. And, truthfully, she wanted to forgive her dad. She had really missed him when he was away.

"Come here kid," he said. She came over to hug him, sniffling a little; she didn't want to cry. He knew that this didn't fix everything and that him and Julia had a long road in front of them before they could be all right again. "I love you sweetheart."

"I love you too dad."

* * *

After spending a night on the couch, Steve was up early the next morning. He was off to meet Danny to follow up on any leads they could about his father's murder. After finishing up at the house and tracking down what leads they already had, they decided it was time to meet up with Chin to see if they could come up with anything new. Chin knew someone that could get them a name that could lead to Hesse.

"How did it go last night?" Danny asked as Steve drove. Remembering how Grace reacted to his and Rachel's divorce, Danny could empathize with Steve and the situation with his daughters.

"It's gonna be fine," Steve nodded, heading down the highway. During the night, he barely slept as he thought about Alexia and what had gone wrong with them. He also thought about what he was going to do about it.

"Good," Danny nodded. "That's good to hear."

"I'm gonna win her back," Steve informed him; for a moment, Danny was speechless.

"Um," Danny said, still not sure of what to say. "I don't think you really get it, do you?"

"Sure I do," Steve reasoned. "Look, we couldn't get past our problems if she was still hung up on getting me to sign-"

"So, you signed the _divorce_ papers to win your wife back?" Danny interrupted him; Steve nodded with a smile. "Do you hear yourself when you say things?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"What does it mean? It means your brilliant plan for winning your wife back was actually giving her the divorce. What, are you just going to ask her out again?"

"It's a bit more complicated than that," Steve said. The night before, he realized everything had been fine until they got married and he started going away all the time. He thought that he would show her that, with him around now, things could be like they used to.

"Oh you think?" Danny asked sarcastically.

"Listen," Steve said, ignoring him as he parked the car where they went to meet Chin. "It'll work, all right? I just have to show her things can be like they used to."

"I've heard of denial before, but this is unbelievable."

"So, you're not going to help me?" Steve asked.

"Help you?" Danny asked, surprised.

"You two are friends," Steve reasoned. "You could be my guy on the inside."

"Your guy on the inside?"

"Could you stop repeating everything I say?"

"You realize this isn't one of your SEAL operations," Danny informed him.

"What isn't?" Chin asked, meeting up with them.

"Steve's genius plan to win Lex back," Danny said, catching him up. "Really, it's top notch. He divorced her so he could remind her he was a good boyfriend."

"Ok, when you say it like that it sounds stupid."

"I think I have something here," Chin interrupted them. "If you're interested."

After bringing in Chin's cousin Kono to work with them, they continued on the case to track down John's killer. After following up on a few more leads, they were finally able to track him down and how he planned to leave the island. Steve and Danny were off, with Steve flying down the highway. Not only did he want revenge for his father, he also wanted to make sure the island was a safe place for his girls. After a long fight, Steve finally put an end to it, shooting and killing the man that killed his father, his body falling into the ocean.

"Man," Danny said, coming up to him once it was all over. Steve was pretty banged up and bloody. "You look like hell."

"I should probably go to the hospital huh?" Steve asked, smiling a little; Danny shook his head, knowing who he was going to see in the emergency room.

"You're truly sick, I hope you know that."

* * *

Alexia was just getting ready to finish up her shift in the emergency room. She used to rotate through there, but now she found herself asking to be transferred to work in the ER permanently. The work wasn't easy, but it was where she felt she made the biggest difference.

"Dr. McGarrett," one of the nurses stopped her; it reminded Alexia she had to get to changing her name tag to reflect her maiden name. "I have someone here asking for you. Says you treated him before? He's in bed four."

Alexia thought it was strange, but went over anyway. When she pulled back the curtain, she was surprised to see Steve sitting there. Then, as she thought about it, she realized she should have known that he would be the one asking for her.

"Hey doc," he said, smiling at her.

"Do I want to know?" she asked, pulling the curtain back around for privacy.

"Probably not," he said as she turned back to him. She lifted his chin to examine his face. His right eye was black and his lip was busted. There was blood running down the side of his face from a deep cut near his hairline.

"You're going to need stitches," she told him, turning to grab gloves off the cart next to the bed. "Are you hurt anywhere else?" she asked, noting the blood on his shirt.

"No, just sore," he told her. She nodded, grabbing cotton and some alcohol.

"This will sting," she warned him, beginning to clean the cut on his head; they were quiet as she finished cleaning around the wound. "Can you stop looking like that?"

"Like what?" he grinned at her. There it was, the smile that she had fallen for when she was sixteen years old; eighteen years later and it still got to her.

"Like you couldn't be more thrilled to be getting stitches," she told him, starting the first stitch.

"I'm just happy to know I'm in such capable hands," he told her.

"Uh huh," she said. "What did happen?"

"Occupational hazard," he told her. She gave him a serious look. "I found Victor Hesse."

"The guy that..." She trailed off as he nodded. "That's...good." He laughed a little at her reaction. "I really don't know what to say in this kind of situation."

"Good is fine," he assured her as she continued to stitch him up; she finished her work in silence.

"All better," she said, applying a gauze bandage over the stitches to keep them clean. "So...do you need a ride to the house?"

Alexia drove Steve back to the house after her shift. He started packing up his things, which made the girls sad. He promised them though he would see them the next day, and every day as long as he could. Alexia agreed with him, knowing it was better for him to be around the girls as often as he could. He was staying one more night and planned to leave in the morning for his father's home.

Tonight, he was wide awake again thinking that he would do anything to fix things with Alexia. If that included moving out for awhile, that's what he would do. He was surprised to hear someone coming down the steps that late at night; it was Alexia. She turned on the light in the kitchen so she could get a glass of water.

"Lex?" Steve asked, sitting up on the couch. Forgetting that he had been sleeping down there, he scared her and cause her to jump.

"Shit," she said, catching her breath. "Don't do that."

"Sorry," he laughed, coming into the kitchen. "What are you doing up?"

"Couldn't sleep," she shrugged, taking a sip. She didn't want to be honest with him and tell him that she couldn't sleep because she was still having nightmares about him. She was happy that he was back in Hawaii, but this new job didn't seem to be much safer after she had seen him in the ER today. "You know, night shift, then day shift...throws me all off."

"Mhmm," Steve nodded, knowing she was lying. He could see that she was upset and wanted nothing more than to hold her and tell her that everything was ok now. "Lex."

"Hm?"

"I'm sorry."

"I know," she told him. "I am too."

**author's note: thanks as always for reading! hope you liked the chapter, please let me know what you think! :)**


	8. Good Together

**Author's note: thanks again as always! i love hearing all of your feedback :) you're all amazing and it's why i keep going! i know it was a rough chapter but just trust me lol ;) hope you enjoy this next chapter! :) **

_Good Together _

Steve had been home for two months and things were going smoothly. He got to see the girls almost everyday, either having picked them up from school and day care or they were staying at his home with him. He had turned Mary's old room and the old guest room into rooms for each of his daughters. He was currently in the very slow process of moving from his old bedroom over to the bigger bedroom. It was going extra slow because he was going through all of his father's things, including a tool box that seemed to be filled with evidence of a case he had been working on.

That night, Alexia had the girls since Steve would have them the next day on his birthday. They never fought over who got to take them, which was nice. Alexia was glad that the girls were getting to spend more time with their dad. She was also glad that, since the first incident, Steve hadn't made any trips back to the emergency room.

Steve was with the rest of the five-0 team that night, having just finished a case. They were all sitting in the big conference area of their HQ, sharing pop corn as they watched old football games online; they were comparing Steve and Chin's styles as quarterback. Currently, they were watching the homecoming football game from Steve's junior year. Steve jumped when he felt someone hit his chair.

"Surprise!" When he turned around, he saw that it was Lucy; Alexia and Julia were there as well.

"This is a surprise," he laughed, picking Lucy up and letting her sit in his lap. "What's going on?"

"The girls wanted to make you a cake for your birthday," Alexia told him, setting the box on the table. "It was Julia's idea."

"Really?" he asked Alexia with raised eyebrows; things were still somewhat tense with him and Julia, so he was happy to hear this had been her idea.

"It wouldn't be a surprise if we did it on your actual birthday," Julia told him.

"Well, thanks sweetheart," he smiled at her. "Come here." Julia went over to hug him. "I have the _best_ girls."

"Wow," Kono said as Alexia opened the box. "You girls did a good job! The cake looks really good."

"Mommy baked it," Lucy told her. "And Julesy did the icing."

"And what did you do?" Steve asked her; she giggled.

"I licked the spoon."

"Well, that's the best part," Danny said, getting up from his seat. "Come on Lex, I'll help you get plates."

"Awesome, thanks," she said, following him around the corner to the small kitchenette.

Truthfully, Danny was trying to get her alone to talk to her. Reluctantly, he had agreed to help Steve out by talking him up and getting Alexia's perspective on things. After all, having gone through this himself he found himself rooting for the dad's side. He also saw that Alexia and Steve were great together now that Steve was home and didn't understand what Alexia had been thinking.

"So," he said as she opened the cupboard to get plates. He got out silverware from the drawer. "How have things been going?"

"Really good," she smiled. "I don't know, things with us have just been going a lot better."

"You think it has to do with Steve being home?"

"Partly," she nodded. "I mean, it is really good for the girls. I just, I don't know, I think some people are just better when they're friends."

"Friends...with kids?" Danny asked curiously; Alexia shrugged, taking the plates back to everyone else. She had started to feel a little more at ease now when she was around Steve since they didn't have anything to argue about anymore; he was back in Hawaii and he had signed the papers. His new job did worry her a little bit, but he never went into too much detail to keep her from worrying in the first place.

"So, what are you guys watching?" Alexia asked as she started cutting up the cake.

"The high school posted all their old football games online," Chin told her. "We're watching Steve now, I think it's..."

"Junior year homecoming," Steve filled in for him, smirking at Alexia; she shook her head at him, continuing to cut the cake and pass it around. Everyone could tell something was up, but they didn't say anything about it.

"And I can see this one," Danny said, motioning to Steve as they watched the rest of the game. "Has always been stubborn. Look at that, you could have passed and ended the game 6 times already!"

"If I didn't run it in, I didn't get the girl," he grinned, not taking his eyes off of Alexia; everyone else turned to look at her too.

"Ok," she said, laughing because she knew everyone wanted an explanation. "Steve had asked me to homecoming, but I only told him I'd go if he scored the winning touchdown." On the screen, it showed Steve running in the winning touchdown. "He won the game and the bet."

"That's really cute," Kono said, taking a bite of her cake; Alexia nodded.

"It was a _long_ time ago," she said, cutting one last slice for herself. _When things were easier_, she silently thought.

"Yeah, it was," Steve agreed, looking her up and down once; Alexia hadn't noticed, but did end up making eye contact with him for a moment. Everyone could feel an awkward tension in the air. Steve wondered how she couldn't see it, when everyone else could; they looked at each other like two people still in love.

"You girls see there?" Steve pointed; the recording had continued on to show the celebration on the field after Steve had scored.

"Where?" Julia asked; Steve paused so they could see better.

"See daddy there, number fifty?" he showed them; they nodded. "See that cheerleader with the long pony tail? That's your mommy."

They didn't watch anymore games after that one, mostly talking and sharing dessert together. The girls had more questions about their parents when they were younger, which Steve could tell was making Alexia uncomfortable. Things were getting better with them, but not good enough to talk about their relationship as a couple.

"So, I can get them from you on Sunday?" Alexia said as they were all getting ready to leave that night. She had brought the girls' over night things in her car.

"Mommy!" Lucy said, feeling she had a good idea. "You should come to the beach tomorrow!"

"Um," Alexia said, not sure what to do. The girls had been doing plenty of things with their dad lately, but they hadn't done anything so far just the four of them. "Sweetie, that's a good idea. But I think you girls should just spend tomorrow with your daddy for his birthday."

"No," Steve smiled at her. "You should come, it'll be fun."

"Pleeeeeeeeeease," Lucy added.

"Fine," Alexia said, brushing off the awkward feeling she had. "I'll meet you guys there tomorrow."

* * *

The next day was perfect beach weather, like most days in Hawaii. Alexia set up their beach things close to the water so she could keep an eye while Steve played in the water with the girls. Julia had held back for awhile as Lucy immediately pulled Steve to the water to go swimming. Eventually though, she went down to the water too. Alexia was laying on her stomach on her beach towel, peeking up from her magazine every so often and smiling as she watched Steve and the girls. She was happy that they got to have him home now; it had been so hard for them when he was away.

Steve was a good father, she knew that. And, truthfully, she knew that he was a good husband as well. It wasn't his fault that he had to leave all the time. It had just been so hard to deal with when he was gone. That was no longer a factor though and she started wondering about the choice she had made. She noticed Steve had the girls come up to play in the more shallow water as he motioned towards her, indicating that he was getting out to talk to her. He came over and laid on the beach towel next to hers in the same way she was.

"You look like you're having fun," she said, not looking over at him. Currently contemplating the divorce made it hard to look over at him.

"Like always," he told her, happy to be getting to spend this much time with his daughters; only one more thing would make this feeling more complete and she was laying right next to him.

"Steve," she said to him. Her tone let him know that something was on her mind.

"Yeah?" he asked curiously. They never had much time alone so they never really got to talk; they noticed the girls coming up now from the water.

"Happy birthday," she told him quickly as the girls ran up to them.

"Mommy," Lucy said, sitting in front of her; Julia was standing behind her sister. "Come swimming!"

"Maybe in a little bit," Alexia told her.

"You always say that," Julia reminded her. "But you never do."

"Please," Lucy added, sticking her lip out.

"Oh that face!" Alexia laughed, sitting up now. "That probably works on daddy, but that doesn't work here." Lucy turned and stuck her lip out at Steve.

"You want your mommy to come swimming?" Steve grinned at her; Lucy nodded, smiling big.

"Steve," Alexia warned, recognizing that look on his face. "No."

"Jules?" he asked, ignoring Alexia; Julia also nodded. "Sorry Lex," he said, getting up. "You're outnumbered." And with that, he grabbed her around her waist.

"STEVEN!" she shouted as he carried her over his shoulder towards the water. She could see the girls laughing on the beach. "Steve," she said again as he got closer to the water. "No, no, no, no-" She couldn't protest any longer as he tossed her into the water. When she surfaced, he was in the water next to her, laughing.

"You suck," she said, splashing him. She wasn't angry as she said this though; she was laughing. "I swear, sometimes it's like you're still eighteen."

"You liked me at eighteen," he reminded her; she rolled her eyes at him, splashing him again. "What did you want to talk about Lex?" She nodded her head forward to show him that the girls were racing down to meet them in the water now.

"It can wait," she said.

* * *

Whatever it was, it waited a lot longer than Steve had wanted it to. He didn't get to see much of Alexia on her own, between work and spending time with the girls. It would have been different if they were still living together. But, of course, now once the girls went to bed he was off to his own house. It had been a few weeks since his birthday; it was October now.

Steve picked Alexia and the girls up from their house on the way to his after work. They were going to meet up with Danny and Grace in order to get pumpkins. With it being close to Halloween, they wanted to get the girls together to carve pumpkins. The girls were also excited because that night was the slumber party at their dance studio they held every year; Grace was extra excited because this was her first one and Julia was telling her all about it.

"It's just not right," Danny said as the three of them watched the girls carve their pumpkins. The girls were sitting around the kitchen table that was now covered in news papers and pumpkin insides. The three adults were gathered around the counter, having a beer.

"Here we go," Steve said, knowing Danny was about to go off on another one of his rants about Hawaii.

"You get pumpkins from a patch, not the grocery store," Danny continued. "And it's supposed to be cold, with the leaves changing for Halloween. Not 80 degrees and palm trees."

"I kind of miss east coast falls," Alexia agreed with him, remembering what it was like in Maryland and Boston this time of year.

"Yeah, but you hated winter," Steve reminded her.

"True," she nodded.

"Daddy!" Lucy said, getting him to come over. "Mine won't cut." Steve went over to help Lucy carve her pumpkin, leaving Danny and Alexia alone.

"So," Danny said quietly, leaning forward on the counter on his forearms.

"So...what?" Alexia asked, sipping her beer.

"So what's going on with you two?" he asked; she opened her mouth to protest but he immediately stopped her. "It's not my business, I know," he told her. "But, I don't know, just seeing you two together? Just makes me wonder."

"You're biased," she told him, taking the last sip of her beer and setting the empty bottle on the counter.

"Maybe," Danny nodded, standing up fully. "But only because I'm the one that has to listen to him all day long." Alexia laughed a little, shaking her head at him. She knew that the two men had become very good friends in the last few months and she knew what Danny was up to.

"And, I don't know," Danny continued with a shrug. "Maybe I just wish someone had been there to tell Rachel I deserved a second chance."

The girls finished their pumpkins, showing their parents proudly. Danny then offered to just drive all three girls to the sleepover. He knew that whatever Alexia had been keeping from Steve was driving him crazy, so he wanted to be able to give them a chance alone. Steve, knowing that Alexia was still a little uncomfortable, immediately offered to drive her home. He figured they would be able to talk on the way to the house; he didn't want to be the one to bring it up though, so they sat in silence in the car for awhile on the way to the house.

"So," she said, breaking the awkward tension as they turned onto her street. "You know I have something I've wanted to talk about." He nodded quietly, waiting for her to continue. "I really have no idea how to tell you this."

"You can tell me anything," he said, looking at her as he parked in the driveway.

"Steve," she said, looking straight ahead at the house. He followed her gaze and saw that, while all the lights were off in the house, the front door was wide open.

"Wait here," he told her, getting out of the car himself. Alexia watched him go up to the house and knew that he was checking each room. He didn't turn the lights on right away, but eventually she saw that he did. Through the windows she could see him walking around the first floor; what was he looking for? He also checked around the front door. Eventually, he locked the door before leaving the house and returning to the car.

"Nothing's missing," he told her. "There aren't any signs of forced entry. That front door has always been kinda screwy, you probably just didn't latch it and the wind blew it open." She nodded, going to unbuckle her seat belt so she could leave.

"I think you should come back with me tonight though," he said, stopping her.

"But you said everything's fine," she said curiously.

"Just let me be paranoid," he said, giving her a small smile. "I already worry about you and the girls living alone, this will help me sleep."

"Whatever," she shrugged. "Can I at least get my stuff for work tomorrow?"

Steve nodded, going up to the house with her. She insisted that she was fine and he waited out on the porch for her. He was sure Danny was still with the girls at this point, so he decided to call Chin while Alexia was inside.

"Nothing is missing," he repeated to Chin. "But someone definitely messed with the locks and broke in here. I'm having Lex come stay at my place tonight."

_"Want me and Kono to check it out?"_ Chin offered.

"Please," Steve told him. "I would have check myself, but I don't want Lex to freak out. Look for fingerprints, anything."

_"You got it,"_ Chin assured him.

Steve hung up just as Alexia was coming back out with her over night bag. She had her own keys, planning to leave from Steve's the next morning for work. They met up at his house, with her following him there. Neither of them said anything else about the house. Steve anxiously waited to hear back from Chin, checking his phone frequently for text messages.

"You're being weird," she said, not looking over at him as she continued to flip through the tv channels. Things were quiet; they hadn't been alone together for this long in a long time.

"I am not," he said, ignoring her. He couldn't take waiting anymore. "So, what did you want to talk about again?"

"Ha," she said, stopping with the remote. "Look what's on." _It_ was playing on one of the movie channels; it was part of a scary movie marathon for the upcoming holiday.

"Oh, come on Lex," Steve cringed, reaching for the remote. She held it away from him.

"Come on," she laughed at him. "Watch it with me." He didn't seem convinced. "Seriously? You're a Navy SEAL, and you're too scared to watch this movie?"

"Ok, I don't make you watch movies with giant spiders in them," he told her.

"Having a fear of spiders is completely legitimate," she argued. "And you could totally beat that clown in a fight."

"And you could step on the spider," he laughed; she grimaced.

"But then it would be all over my shoe."

"You're ridiculous," he told her; he then jumped as something popped out on the screen.

"Says you," she laughed.

* * *

The next morning, Danny got a call from Chin letting him know that they had a new case to work. He told him that he had tried calling Steve but he hadn't answered. Danny said not to bother calling again and that he would stop by the house to pick up Steve on his way. When he got there, he saw that Alexia's car was there. He then remembered Kono letting him know what happened and that someone had broken into Alexia's house the night before.

When Danny went up to the door, he was surprised to find the door unlocked since Steve normally locked the doors before he went upstairs for bed. Letting himself in though, he saw why the door was unlocked; Steve had never gotten up to go to bed that night. He caught Steve asleep on the couch, but he wasn't alone. Alexia was sleeping with her head on his chest and his arm was around her. While it was a perfectly sweet moment, Danny grinned at the chance to embarrass them both. Once he got inside, he slammed the door which caused them both to jump.

"Well good morning you two," he smirked as they got up, still in a sleepy state. Once she realized what was going on and who she had been sleeping against, Alexia bolted upright, blushing.

"I'm, uh, going to change for work," she said, getting up from the couch and grabbing her over night bag from the bottom of the steps. As she hurried up the stairs and out of the awkward encounter, Danny looked to Steve and raised his eye brows suggestively.

"Don't," Steve shook his head at him.

"What?" Danny asked innocently. While he was having fun at their expense, he did become serious. "Did you guys talk about, whatever _thing_ she wanted to talk about?"

"No," Steve shook his head, rubbing his eyes.

"Ah, I see," Danny smiled, again being suggestive. "Didn't get there, huh?" Steve gave him a serious look. "All right, all right. I'll stop. Did you at least fess up about the break in?" Steve shook his head again. "So, you didn't talk about the _thing_," Danny said, sitting next to him on the couch. "You didn't talk about the break in. What did you do?"

"We just hung out," Steve shrugged. "Watched movies, fell asleep. It was..." He trailed off as he thought about it, smiling. "It was nice."

"That's...adorable," Danny said, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "Really. But-" He stopped as Alexia came back down the stairs, dressed in her usual scrubs for work.

"I'm off," she told them, pulling her keys from her bag; she was acting like nothing happened. Nothing had happened in _that_ way, they had just fallen asleep innocently on the couch. But, after not being together for so long and being divorced now, cuddling while they slept was more intimate than she had expected to get. "Rachel's picking up the girls from the studio today. Could you get them from her house, around five?"

"Sure," Steve nodded. "Lex-" He knew that what they really needed now was to talk.

"I'll see you later," she said, heading out the door and shutting it behind her. She didn't want to talk to him about it, even though she knew that's what they had to do. Sooner or later, she knew that she was going to have to own up to her mistake.

**Author's note: thanks for reading! hope you liked it :) please review **


	9. Walk Away

**thanks so much for all of your feedback! i'm glad you all liked the chapter. hope you like this one! :) **

_Walk Away_

Steve had hoped that talking to Chin and Kono about the break in the night before would make him feel better, but it didn't. They hadn't found a single fingerprint, or anything that would show that someone had even gone into the house. It was almost as if they picked the lock and left.

"What, like they wanted to know they could break into the house?" Danny asked, confused. "Robbers don't usually take a test run on the house they want to steal from."

"It makes no sense," Kono agreed.

"It's a scare tactic," Steve said. "Someone is trying to make her paranoid."

"Yeah, but who?" Danny asked.

"Has she mentioned anything to you lately?" Chin asked Steve. "Anyone following her?"

"No," Steve shook his head. "Maybe that's what she's been trying to tell me?"

"Doubtful," Danny said. "If she was afraid and thought someone might hurt her kids, I feel like she would have already told you." Steve nodded; Danny was quiet for a moment. "Maybe it's not about her."

"What are you saying?" Steve asked, sounding a bit defensive.

"I'm saying," Danny said, holding his hands up to show he meant no offense. "Maybe it was meant to scare you." Steve thought about it. "We have been doing a lot of digging lately," Danny went on. "Into your mom's death and the Yakuza. That's going to piss somebody off."

"Oh God," Steve said, rubbing his forehead. "Things were supposed to get better when I came home."

"You couldn't have known you'd stumble onto your mom's murder investigation," Chin reasoned.

"Have you talked to her about any of this?" Kono asked.

"Oh, I can answer that one," Danny smirked, remembering the events from earlier that morning; Steve gave him a _look_.

Truthfully, Steve had been trying to shield Alexia from his work. For one thing, since the divorce, he knew it wasn't really right for him to unload to her about work each and every day. Also, he knew how much stress his old job had caused her and how much fear she held for him. Since he had been home, everything had become so much more complicated as he investigated the deaths of both his father and mother. With what was going on right now though, he knew that it was time to tell her the truth about everything that had been happening so she could keep an eye out for anything strange.

That evening, he picked up the girls from Rachel's and drove them home. They couldn't stop talking about their party the night before and he nodded along enthusiastically, though he was worried about them deep down. _What if something happened to his girls?_ When they go to the house, they found Alexia in the kitchen on the phone as she prepared dinner. She was in her usual capris and different colored tank top, her hair down.

"Oh, hold on Seth," she said as the girls came in. "Hi girls!" she said, hugging them as they came in. "Did you have fun?" They both nodded.

"Is that Uncle Seth?" Lucy asked.

"It is," Alexia nodded, putting her phone on speaker. "Say hi."

"Hi Uncle Seth!" the girls said in unison.

_"Hi girls,"_ Seth laughed; Alexia took the phone back off of speaker.

"Ok, go wash up for dinner. I'll call you when it's ready," she said, placing the phone between her shoulder and ear so her hands could be free. "Are you staying for dinner?" She rolled her eyes. "Not you Seth. Are you staying Steve?" Steve noticed what she was making; it was chili and cornbread.

"I mean, I wouldn't say no to my favorite," he smiled at her.

"K," she said, going to the cupboards in the kitchen; she listened on the phone for a moment and rolled her eyes again. "Don't start Seth." She pulled four bowls out of the cupboard; Steve knew whatever comment Seth had made had been about him. He knew that it wasn't that Seth didn't like him as a person, he just didn't like him with his sister. The fear was, like it had always been, that Steve would be like Alexia's father, Mark.

"Anyway, that's all I know about it," she informed him. "So, I don't know if you still want to just wait till Thanksgiving to visit or..." She trailed off, listening again. "Well, I can tell you right now either way I'm not going." She listened some more as she got the chili toppings out of the refrigerator.

"Because there's no way. Not after everything," she continued; he started to say something but she cut him off. "Ok, the thing with me forgiving Steve is _completely_ different. And, besides, he still pisses me off sometimes." As she was saying this, she was smiling at him to show she was joking.

"What's going on?" Steve mouthed to her; she shook her head at him.

"I have no idea how long," she said to Seth, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear; her tone implied she had said this repeatedly. "I don't work in long term care, I work in the ER. I deal in minutes, not weeks." Seth started going on again. "Well, that's great for you. Let me know if you need a ride from the airport." He said something and she shook her head. "Yeah, ok, tomorrow. Bye Seth." When she hung up she could tell Steve wanted to know what was going on; she sighed.

"Someone from hospice came to the ER today to talk to me," she said, getting spoons out of the silverware drawer. "They admitted my mom." She said it bluntly to seem like she didn't care, but Steve could tell by the way she wouldn't look at him and kept busy in the kitchen that it obviously did bother her.

"I didn't know she was sick," Steve said quietly, standing on the opposite side of the counter from her. Talking about Alexia's mother was always a sensitive subject that he was careful to tiptoe around. Alexia never really forgave her mother for how she handled her father's death.

"Me either," Alexia said. "Till today." She unstacked the bowls, lining them on the counter before placing spoons in each of them. "Oh, I forgot sour cream," she said, changing the subject as she turned back to the refrigerator. "I always forget about it because you're the only one that eats it," she said lightly, setting it with the shredded cheese and crackers she had out for the chili.

"Lex," he said seriously.

"Hm?"

"Go see your mom," he told her. If looks could kill, he would have dropped in that moment. "I'm serious," he went on; she didn't seem convinced. "Look, after what you went through with your dad and what I went through with my parents, I think you should know how much it means to have a chance to say goodbye." Instead of responding, she picked up one of the bowls and put it away, indicating that she didn't want him to stay for dinner any longer.

"That's good Lex," he said sarcastically. "And very mature too."

"I think you should go," she told him. He knew how she felt about her mom, he knew about the situation. _How could he tell her to just go see her? _

"Ok," he nodded. "If that's what you want, that's fine." He turned to go, but stopped. "I'll probably see you at the hospital tomorrow though."

"Why's that?"

"I'll be going to see my mother in law," he said, challenging her; she hated when he did that.

"_Ex_ mother in law," she corrected him. "And that's great. Hey, since you're on the same page as my brother you can pick him up from the airport tomorrow."

"That's fine," Steve said, smiling at her. He wouldn't let her think that she was going to get to him by being angry at him over this.

"Good."

"Great."

"Fantastic."

* * *

"So why are we going to pick up your ex wife's brother exactly?" Danny asked the next day as Steve drove towards the airport. Steve and Danny originally had planned to have that day to go hiking. Now, they were making a stop at the airport along the way.

"Because," Steve said calmly. "Lex and I are kind of in a stand off right now."

"Uh huh," Danny nodded, never surprised by their ever complex relationship. "How so?"

"I want her to go see her mom in the hospital, she doesn't want to. And she thinks sending me to get her brother and having us both go to the hospital is going to bother me and make me back off. But it won't."

"Ah, but see it _does_ bother you," Danny said. "Because I happen to know that you don't like this guy."

"When have I ever said that?" Steve asked.

"I can just tell."

"Because you know me that well?" Steve asked, amused. It wasn't that Steve disliked Seth, he just didn't understand why Seth didn't seem to like him. It wasn't like he had been a bad husband to his sister.

"Well enough," Danny nodded. "I'm also guessing that, while you were having this argument, you didn't get to talk about all the things you actually needed to talk about. You know, the break in, whatever's been bothering her. Your undying love for-"

"We needed to talk about this," Steve interrupted, parking the car next to curb at the airport. "She needs to go see her mom."

"I hate to break it to you," Danny said with sarcastic gentleness. "But that's not your business anymore. Not really." Steve went to say something, but stopped when he felt that someone was standing next to his open window; it was Seth.

"You pissed off my sister, didn't you?" he asked, knowing that's why Steve was there at the airport.

"In all fairness," Steve said as Seth got in the back seat, tossing his duffel bag in first. "You pissed her off too." Seth nodded in agreement. They didn't always get along, but they knew what Alexia was like when she was being stubborn.

"This is my partner Danny," Steve said, starting to drive again. "Danny, Lex's brother Seth." They nodded and said hello to each other. "So, did you want me to take you by the house or..."

"I was actually hoping to get to the hospital first," Seth said. "If you don't mind." Steve nodded, turning appropriately to go to the hospital. "You don't think she'll go see our mom, do you?"

"If I know Lex," Steve sighed. "Probably not."

"You know she hasn't seen her since she left for college," Seth pointed out; Steve nodded, remembering he had been the one to help Alexia get the rest of her things to move out.

"She's mad at her," Steve said, trying to be sympathetic to both sides. He understood why Lex would be mad at her mom, but he also knew when it was time to move on from things; with her mom being in hospice care, there wasn't much time left.

"Half of it is Lex doesn't want to be her," Seth added; Steve looked at him in the rear view mirror confused. "I'm sorry man, that wasn't fair for me to-"

"No, no," Steve shook his head, letting him know it was ok. "I just never put that together before." Alexia wasn't just afraid of losing him like she had lost her dad; she was afraid of becoming like her mom.

Steve dropped Seth off at the main entrance of the hospital, telling him to let Megan know that he would be in later that day to see her. Unfortunately, he ended up back at the hospital in a way that he hadn't planned. While him and Danny were hiking, Steve had fallen and broken his arm. Danny drove, rushing them back to the hospital. The nurse from when he had to get his stitches recognized him, sending him to get an x-ray for his arm. He sat in a small room off the main hall from the emergency room and waited to get his cast once his x-rays were finished.

"Oh you've gotta be kidding me," Alexia said, coming into the room and seeing that it was Steve. "Seriously?"

"What?" Steve asked, confused as she came over.

"It's like you're trying to give me a coronary before my next birthday," she said, seeming annoyed as she rolled up his sleeve to examine his arm; it was bruised a deep purple. "What are you smiling at?"

"You care," he smiled at her.

"Of course I _care_," she said, like it was obvious; her tone still implied annoyance. She started cleaning off his arm so she could start applying the material for the cast. "Just because you piss me off sometimes doesn't mean I want you to..." She trailed off. "What kind of work related trouble did you get into today?" Steve shook his head.

"Hiking accident," he corrected her. They were quiet as she finished cleaning his arm before wrapping it in a layer of cotton first.

"Quit looking at me like that," she said to him. "I don't know what look it's for, but-"

"I know what you're scared of," he told her in a matter of fact way. Thanks to Seth, he was finally able to piece together why Alexia had left him.

"Spiders?" she asked lightly, starting to wrap his arm in the material that would eventually harden into a cast.

"You're not your mom Lex," he told her, ignoring the spider comment. She stopped what she was doing, looking up from his arm at him.

"Excuse me?"

"It was never just about me being like your dad," he continued. "It was about you being like your mom."

"Steve, I'm warning you to stop," she said angrily.

"What are you going to do?" he asked sarcastically. "Leave me?" She ignored him, going back to working on his cast so she could get out of that room as quickly as possible; he could see the tears rimming her eye lids as she kept her head down.

"What are you so afraid of admitting?" he asked her. "Yes, my job is dangerous. But guess what? You could walk outside right now and get struck by lightning, or a bus, or have a heart attack, whatever! But-"

"Steve, _stop_," she said, finishing wrapping his arm; the cast just needed to harden now.

"But knowing that something bad could happen doesn't keep me from wanting to be with you," he continued. She turned to go, but he got up from the table he had been sitting on to go block the door.

"No, we're going to talk about this because we never actually have before," he told her; she crossed her arms, not saying anything. "Lex, I am _so_ sorry about what happened to your dad. It wasn't right or fair, but bad things happen. And I couldn't think of someone who deserves it any less than you. But, in case you forgot, I was only sixteen when my mom had her accident. And I didn't just break up with you because you might get into an accident too."

"That's not the same thing."

"It absolutely is!" Steve argued. "Look, I won't lie to you and pretend I have the safest job in the world. I get shot at more times than you'd probably ever care to know-"

"Not helping Steve."

"But between now and what might not even happen, I know I want to spend that with you," he told her. "That's all I want, you and the girls are all I want. And it's not fair for you to just-"

"Then why did you sign?" she cut him off.

"Because I know you," he told her. "If I didn't sign, we would still be mailing those papers back and forth, having the same fight over and over."

"This isn't about my parents," she said back. "This is about you not being around. For the ballet recitals, soccer games, parent teacher conferences-"

"I'm here now," he stopped her. "So what's your excuse?" She didn't have anything left to say. When the door to the room opened, she was grateful that Malia had come in.

"Oh, sorry," Malia said, excusing herself. "I thought you would be done, I wanted to see if you wanted to get lunch?"

"We're done," Alexia said, grabbing her prescription pad from her large scrubs pocket and scribbled out a prescription for vicodin. "You can take these every six hours for the pain."

"Lex-"

"You can see your primary care doctor in six weeks to get that taken off," she continued. "Have a good rest of your day Commander McGarrett." She turned to leave, motioning for Malia to leave the room first.

"That's good Lex," Steve said. "Just walk away." She slammed the door behind her.

* * *

Danny had been sitting in the waiting room for hours. He didn't know what was taking so long, especially since he had already seen Alexia around the emergency room after he knew she had gone in to see Steve. He wasn't able to ask her what was going on though, because he could tell that she was intentionally avoiding looking in his direction. Finally, Steve came over to where he was sitting.

"What took you so long?" Danny asked. He saw that Steve's left arm was in a cast, however, he was flexing his right hand and wincing. "What did you do?"

"They wanted to x-ray my hand once my cast was done," Steve said casually.

"I didn't know you hurt your hand too," Danny said. "Is it broken?" Steve shook his head. "Was it from when you fell?"

"It was from when I punched the wall," Steve answered honestly.

"Ah," Danny nodded. "So I take it the talk with Lex didn't go so well."

"You think?" Steve asked sarcastically.

"Which talk was it?" Danny asked curiously, knowing there were several that could have taken place; Steve didn't answer. "Oh no, did you have the mom talk again?"

"If you don't mind waiting around a little longer," Steve said, ignoring the comment. "I was going to go upstairs and see Megan." Danny didn't say anything, he only held his hand out in a motion for Steve to lead the way. Steve walked around the corner to the elevator, taking it up with Danny the three floors to where he knew the hospice center was. Danny told him he would wait out in the hall as Steve went in to talk to her alone; Seth had gone back to the house to get some rest after a long day of traveling.

"Steve," Megan smiled at him from her hospital bed; she looked so frail. Once Steve and Alexia had left the island for school he had started to feel really bad for her mom. He saw how hard it had been for his dad when his mom died. Granted, his dad didn't spend everyday in his room and let his children go unnoticed; there were times Alexia would spend several days in a row at his house in high school and Megan never noticed she was gone. They were older now though; Steve was the one that told her about the wedding and sent her pictures of the girls.

"Hi Megan," he said, kissing her cheek before taking a seat in the chair Seth had pulled over. They were quiet for a moment. "Why didn't you tell me you were sick?"

"I didn't want to bother you," she shrugged. "I know you're busy. Work and the girls." She nodded at his empty ring finger. "One handful of an ex-wife," she said lightly; Steve gave a small smile.

"She's...something," Steve said, not sure where to go with this.

"Can I give you some advice?" she asked. "Something I wish I would have figured out awhile ago." Steve nodded. "Fight to keep her, don't push her away like I did."

"She doesn't make it easy," Steve responded.

"She's not good at admitting she needs people," Megan told him. "But she needs you."

* * *

A few weeks passed. Alexia had done her best at avoiding Steve, usually sending her brother with the girls to drop them off these days; Seth was staying so he could see his mom as often as he could, knowing that she was getting progressively worse. Steve would go to the hospital a few times to see her mom and again, she managed to avoid him.

By now, Steve's arm had healed and he was able to remove his cast. He was home alone tonight, flipping through the tv channels. Even on nights that he didn't have the girls, he had gotten used to going over to Alexia's to see them anyway. Since they had the fight at the hospital though, Steve felt a little less welcome around Alexia. He was starting to doze off when his phone started ringing; it was Seth.

_"Hey man,"_ Seth said to him. _"I didn't know if Lex would call you or not, but I just thought you should know. Mom passed away tonight."_

A few days later was Megan's funeral. Steve hadn't heard from Alexia, so he assumed she wasn't going. His suspicions were confirmed when he got to the church and didn't see her there. He sat quietly through the service, shifting uncomfortably when he felt his phone buzzing in his pocket. It wasn't loud enough for most people to hear, but the few people around him could hear and gave him a _look_. Finally, the third time his phone started to go off, he got up and quietly snuck out the back of the church. Outside, he saw the contact that had been calling him was _Lex Work_; it was the emergency room's main number.

"Hello?"

_"Commander McGarrett,"_ a male voice said on the other end. _"This is Doctor Miller, with the emergency department. We have you listed as the emergency contact for Alexia McGarrett?"_ Steve felt his stomach drop.

"What happened?"

**Thanks for reading! Let me know what you thought!**


	10. Real Fear

**thanks so much as always! you're all so great and i love hearing from you! i know, the cliff hanger was mean but...well just wait till you read this chapter lol ;) hope you like this update! :) **

_Real Fear_

Steve rushed to the hospital when he heard that Alexia had been in an accident. He was having flashbacks to the feeling he had when the police came to tell them that his mother had been in an accident. Now that he knew that his mother's accident hadn't actually been an accident though, his panic magnified.

Running into the emergency room, the nurses at the desk immediately pointed him down the hall. He found her sitting on the edge of a hospital bed, arguing with a doctor that she was fine. There was one male doctor in the room, who Steve assumed had called him; Malia was there as well, holding the hospital gown out for Alexia to take.

"What's going on?" Steve asked, feeling his heart rate return to normal once he saw that Alexia was all right.

"We're admitting her overnight," Dr. Miller was saying.

"No, you're not," Alexia interrupted.

"You hit your head," Malia reasoned with her. "They just want to make sure everything is ok." Shaking her head, Alexia took the gown from Malia. The doctor treating her told her he would be back; Malia told Steve that she would leave them alone.

"Where are the girls?" Steve asked immediately. He noticed a few cuts on her face; most of them weren't that bad but there was a pretty decent sized gash on her collar bone that had required stitches. There was a large bruise on the left side of her face, close to her hair line; he figured this must be where she had hit her head.

"Danny's," she answered. Steve wondered why Alexia had dropped them off there, but he then realized she was wearing the same black skirt and blouse she had worn to his father's funeral several months ago.

"You were on your way to the funeral," he observed; she rolled her eyes.

"You caught me," she said sarcastically, going to get up so she could change. Upon standing though she immediately became dizzy. Steve took her forearms, balancing her; she gripped the sleeves of his uniform as she regained her balance.

"All right?" he asked her; she nodded. "Need any help?"

"I'll be fine," she said quietly, hobbling over to the bathroom of her hospital room to change into the hospital gown; her entire body was sore. Steve didn't say anything as she came back out, getting into the bed and sighing.

"What exactly happened?" Steve finally asked.

"This wasn't me being a bad driver," she told him immediately, knowing that he always hated how she drove. He was always telling her that she needed to be more careful and she figured part of it had been because of his mother's car accident. "My car just decided to suck today."

"What do you mean?" he asked curiously.

"I've had no problems with it," she continued. "But, after I dropped the girls off I was running kind of early, so I stopped to get coffee. When I came out, I got into my car and went to pull out of the parking lot." She shook her head. "And I know what you're going to say, that I wasn't looking or paying attention or whatever, but I was and-"

"I wouldn't say that right now," he said defensively. "Lex, I'm so tired of every conversation we have ending in a fight."

"I'm sorry," she said, rubbing her forehead and wincing.

"Are you all right?"

"My head is killing me," she said, leaning back against her pillow. "Anyway, there were a ton of cars going by. I tried to stop, but my brakes just wouldn't work." Steve felt his heart rate picking back up._ If she never had any problems with her car before, why did her brakes just suddenly stop working?_

"And I'm sure you can figure out the rest," she continued. "The other car couldn't stop in time as I slid out in the road and smashed into me."

"Well, I'm glad you're all right," he told her; he paused. "And I'm glad that you decided to come today."

"Not the time," she said lightly, but then winced again and rubbed her forehead.

"I'll go see if your doctor can get you something," he promised her, heading out into the hall. Once out in the hallway, he pulled his phone from his pocket to make a call to Chin.

"I need you to pull the security footage from the coffeehouse," he told him.

* * *

Alexia was in and out for a few hours, her head injury and pain medication making her feel fuzzy. Every time she awoke though, she saw Steve sitting in the same position in the chair next to her bed. He wasn't reading anything and didn't have the tv on; occasionally he would check his phone, but that was it.

"You don't have to stay here with me," she finally told him, her voice groggy.

"You shouldn't be by yourself," he replied. Truthfully, he was now convinced that the break in and the incident with her car were connected. Knowing the girls were safe with Danny, he wanted to stay here with her. He wasn't sure if or when someone would try to hurt her again and he wanted to be around to protect her.

"All I'm doing is sleeping it off," she reasoned with him. "By now, I'm sure the girls are wondering where I'm at. Could you pick them up from Danny's?"

"All right," Steve reluctantly agreed. "I'm going to call your brother though and have him come stay here."

"Whatever you say," she shrugged, fading back into sleep.

It was hard for Steve to look at her like this, all beat up from her accident. It would have been difficult regardless, but now he felt somewhat responsible; whoever was doing this was trying to get to him. Steve called Seth to explain what happened. Seth was going back to California soon, but he said that he would come spend the night at the hospital with his sister. With that taken care of, Steve went over to Danny's right away to pick up the girls.

"Daddy!" Lucy said when Steve let himself into the small apartment.

"Hey," he smiled weakly, hugging her and carrying her back over to the couch where she had been watching cartoons with Julia.

"Where's mom?" Julia asked curiously; Steve sighed, kneeling in front of the couch so he could be eye level with the girls.

"Your mom is _fine_," Steve assured them right away. "She just...had a little accident with her car earlier. The doctors want to watch her over night at her work, but she'll be ok."

"Did you kiss mommy's boo boos?" Lucy asked.

"I think," Steve told her. "She would like a big kiss from you two instead. So, what if I take you girls home and we clean up the house, then make mommy a card or something?" Both girls nodded enthusiastically. "Ok," he said, getting up and kissing each of their heads. "I'm gonna go talk to your Uncle Danny real quick, ok?" They nodded as Steve stepped over into the kitchen where Danny had his laptop at the table.

"Did Chin email you this?" Danny asked, opening the email link.

"If he did, it was when I was driving," Steve said quietly.

It was the footage from the coffee house. On it, there was a clear view of the parking lot, the front entrance, and the main road next to the parking lot. The video showed Alexia pulling her car into the lot, backing into a parking space on the edge of the parking lot. As she exited her car and walked towards the entrance, Steve noticed another car pull up and park next to hers. Though he had been expecting this, his heart did stop when he saw who got out of the car.

"Is that..."

"Hiro's brother," Danny nodded. "Same as with your mom's car." Steve didn't want to say it out loud, but he knew that the only reason there hadn't been an explosive like with his mother's car was because there wasn't enough time. Instead, he quickly and efficiently ruined her brakes. He was done and on his way inside when Alexia came out; she didn't even see what he had done.

"God, she held the door open for him," Steve muttered, watching the rest of the footage.

"Steve," Danny warned as he stood behind Steve's chair, knowing what happened next on the video. Steve watched when Alexia's car went right out into traffic, the other car hitting her side head on. He slammed the laptop shut.

"Dammit," he mumbled, running a hand through his hair. Luckily, the girls were too engrossed in their cartoons to have noticed their father's panic. "I'm going to find him," Steve said, quietly but angrily. "I'm going to find him and I'm going to..." He trailed off as he saw Danny shaking his head. "What?"

"He's already dead," Danny said. "Earlier this afternoon, car accident surprisingly."

"_What_?" Steve asked in complete shock. "How, why?"

"I take it someone wasn't too pleased with the fact that Lex made it," Danny said gently.

"Shit," Steve said as he sat at the table, taking his head in his hands. He knew what this meant, that it wouldn't be long until someone came after Alexia again. "I cannot believe-"

"Hey," Danny stopped him, sitting next to him at the table as he tried to calm him. "Listen, I know. Trust me, if this was Rachel and Grace I would be losing it. But, Lex is _ok_," Danny assured him. "Julia and Lucy, they're _ok_. I'll keep working with Chin and Kono, you take the girls home. Do whatever you have to. I'm assuming you told Lex about everything at the hospital?" Steve didn't say anything. "Oh come on."

"She was passed out," Steve said. "They have her on some pretty heavy pain meds."

"Talk to her," Danny instructed.

* * *

The next morning, Seth dropped Alexia off at the house before heading to the airport. She was surprised to find Steve there with the girls, rather than having them at his home; it was before the girls would have to leave for school and daycare. She smiled though when the girls presented her with handmade cards. There were also flowers on the table, from Steve. They were lilies, her favorite.

"Thank you girls," Alexia said, hugging and kissing them both.

"Are you ok mom?" Julia asked; Alexia nodded.

"I'm ok," she promised, though she was still sore her head was doing much better. "But, the _best_ part, is I get to take a few days off work," she smiled at the girls. "What if I let you both skip today and we can have a girly day?"

"Yay!" Lucy said, hugging her mother tightly.

"Thank you Steve," Alexia said, as she stood up and was still holding Lucy. "For everything...and the flowers."

"Sure," he nodded, giving her a small smile. "Of course."

"Girls," Alexia said, setting Lucy down. "Can I talk to your daddy for a minute?" The girls nodded, heading upstairs.

"What's up?" Steve asked, though he had his own list of things to talk about with her.

"I'm sorry," she told him. "About the fight, at the hospital last month. I just-"

"It wasn't up to me to tell you what to do about your mom," he interrupted her. "You don't have to be sorry." She took a deep breath.

"There's something I've _really_ needed to talk to you about," she confessed. "Something...I just...God, I'm so stupid. You're going to hate me."

"I'd never hate you," he assured her.

"You might start," she said softly, looking down at her feet. They were interrupted by Steve's ringing phone; he was annoyed, because every time they tried to talk something came up. "Answer it."

"Hello?" he said; it was Danny.

_"I was driving by your place,_" Danny explained. _"The door was wide open."_ Alexia could see the expression change in Steve's face to concern. _"I went in, the place is trashed. And, on top of that, your dad's toolbox is missing."_

"You've gotta be kidding me," Steve said, rubbing his forehead; he looked over as Alexia caught his attention.

"Go," she whispered, not sure what was going on. "I can wait." The girls came running back down the steps and she smiled. "I have girls' day to get to anyway."

Reluctantly, Steve left the girls alone. He stopped by his house, which was again a crime scene. They didn't find any prints, much like the break in at Alexia's. The downstairs of the house had been turned upside down. Steve guessed they stopped once they found what they were looking for, his father's toolbox. Wondering if his father and mother's murders were now connected, he spent all day at HQ with the rest of Five-0. They lost track of time as they dug through everything they had, wondering if they had missed something.

* * *

Alexia had the girls at home, after a long day of shopping and taking them to do their nails. Now, she had let them rent a movie and was going to let them watch it with her in her bedroom. The girls were in their pajamas, crawling under the big fluffy comforter on Alexia's bed as she put the DVD in. She jumped though when they all heard a crash downstairs, followed by footsteps.

"Mom," Julia said worriedly; Lucy was also frightened.

"Here," Alexia said quietly, leading them over to her large closet. "Wait in here ok?" She handed Julia her cell phone. "Call your dad."

Alexia exited her bedroom, locking the door behind her, tip toeing her way over to the steps. The voice of reason in her head was screaming at her that this was a bad idea, but she didn't want to sit and wait for whoever it was to find them upstairs. She would rather take her chances downstairs alone than risk her children upstairs.

* * *

The Five-0 team was still busily searching through everything that they had; there were still pictures of the evidence from the toolbox. They were looking for something that connected everything. Whatever John had been working on before his death was enough to make someone want to go after his wife many years before, and now his son's wife years later.

Steve wasn't the only one losing sleep over this. They had all been working together for awhile now, so it felt like their family was in danger as well; anything that would hurt Steve would hurt them. Steve became aware of how late it was once his phone started ringing and he saw the time; it was close to eleven. Worriedly, he answered the phone as he wondered what Alexia could be calling him about this late.

"Lex?" he said, answering his phone; Danny mouthed for him to put it on speaker.

_"Dad,"_ Julia said back; Steve could tell she was crying.

"Sweetheart, what's wrong?" Steve asked; he wasn't very good at masking the panic in his own voice right now. Everyone else stopped what they were doing to listen.

_"Someone's at the house,"_ she whimpered. Phone in hand, Steve took off running. He wasn't aware of much else, just that he needed to get to the house immediately. He noticed the others hurrying to keep up with him though.

"Where's your mother?" Steve asked as him and Danny got into the car; when Julia told him that Alexia had left the room he silently cursed her. He knew what she had been thinking though. It was either sit and wait until she and the girls were all in danger, or just put herself at risk instead. He would have done the same thing, but he also hoped that he got there fast enough. Danny, who normally told Steve to slow down before he got them killed, was silent as Steve sped through the streets; there was nothing he could say right now.

"I'll be there in five minutes Julia," Steve assured her. "You girls just stay really quiet, ok? And don't move until I come get you."

* * *

Alexia took to the stairs quietly, making her way down them one at a time. She was currently trying to convince herself that she once heard that, during a break in, if the intruder saw you they would get scared and run off. She wasn't sure if she had actually heard this somewhere or if she was making it up to make herself feel better. Realizing that she didn't have anything to defend herself, she grabbed what was closest to her as she got to the bottom of the stairs.

_An umbrella_, she thought to herself. _Really Lex?_

She continued through the downstairs, leaving the lights off. From where she stood now, she could see the break in occurred at the window in the living room. Standing in the kitchen, she stopped to listen for a moment for any sort of movement. She was caught off guard when she felt someone grab her and slam her against the counter.

She could feel her ribs crack as she hit the edge of the counter and she fell over onto the floor. As she was trying to catch her breath, the male intruder was now on top of her, attempting to choke her. She knew that she wasn't nearly strong enough to push him off of her. Instead, she grabbed a bottle from the wine rack under the counter and hit him with it. He fell back for a moment and she scrambled to her feet, going to the counter to grab a knife. Feeling him grabbing her arm, she turned and stabbed him.

Her mouth dropped open; she was shocked that she was actually capable of doing that to someone. The man stumbled back, pulling the knife and dropping it as he gripped his abdomen. Both of their heads turned when they heard a car screech to a halt outside. Knowing Steve was back, the man stumbled out of the room and towards the back door; whoever he was, he knew that it was better to try to run then to wait for Steve to get a hold of him. Once the man was gone, Alexia became suddenly aware of the sharp pain in her side and she leaned back against the counter for support with one hand, her other hand holding her side. The front door still being locked, Steve kicked it open.

"Lex!" he called, hurrying in and flicking the lights on. He could see her in the kitchen, struggling to stand. Rushing over to her, he saw the blood on her, the floor, and the knife. Danny and Chin went by, following the trail of blood out the back door.

"Oh my God," Steve said, pulling a chair over first and helping her sit in it; Kono was already calling for an ambulance.

"It's," she said, taking a sharp breath. "Fine."

"Fine?" he asked, kneeling next to her. "You are not _fine_ Lex, you're bleeding." She shook her head, waving him off as she rolled up her shirt to show her black and blue rib cage.

"I think I just cracked a rib," she said, still breathing hard; Steve raised his eye brows.

"Who's blood is this?" he asked; she pointed over her shoulder with her thumb at the back door, indicating it belonged to whoever had broken in. "Um...wow, all right." He certainly had never expected this from Alexia, but then again, he knew that she would do anything knowing that the girls were in danger.

"Can you go up and get the girls?" she asked, holding her side still. "Please? I'm fine, really."

Steve ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time. Hearing his voice in the hallway, the girls rushed out of the closet and unlocked the door for him. Seeing them, he grabbed them both and held them close. Both girls had been scared, but felt safer now that their dad was home. He was telling them that they were going to come stay with him for awhile; there was no way he was letting the three of them have another night alone, not after this.

"Daddy, you're squishing me," Lucy told him.

"I'm sorry," he said, kissing both of their heads. He was so grateful, because things could have gotten so much worse.

* * *

"So, how does Lex feel about the move?" Danny asked the next day in Steve's office. Steve was back at work, trying to figure out who had broken into the house the night before. He was having Alexia and the girls stay with him, at least until they figured out what was going on. The girls were at his house with Kono right now; he was not leaving them unattended for awhile, his paranoia taking over.

"It's not permanent," Steve said. "Just till I know what's going on."

"Right, but living with your ex?" Danny asked. "Your ex that you're still in love with?"

"Not really the concern right now Danno," Steve said, seeing Alexia through the glass before she let herself into the office.

"Everything all right?" he asked immediately.

"Fine," she nodded; the girls were still with Kono. "I just...Steve I still really need to talk to you." Steve noticed Chin coming back; he had been at the lab where they were testing the DNA from the blood at the house to see if there was a match anywhere in the system. Chin and Danny hadn't been able to find the intruder the night before.

"Can it wait?" he asked as Chin came in; he didn't wait for an answer as he looked to Chin. "Well?"

"You're not going to like this," Chin said sadly, handing Steve the file. Steve's eyes went wide as he saw the name.

"No," he shook his head. "No, it _can't_ be."

"Who?" Danny asked.

"Victor Hesse," Chin answered. Alexia knew that was the man that had killed Steve's father.

"No, I killed him," Steve said. "I did, I-" He stopped, shaking his head. First Hiro's brother had gone after Alexia, now Hesse? This meant that the deaths of his mother and father connected and that Hesse and Hiro were working for the same person. Whoever that person was, they were still out there.

"You have to go," Steve told Alexia.

"No, Steve. I-"

"Go home and pack," he instructed her. "Go to California for awhile, see your brother, see Mary. It's just...it's not safe."

"Steve," she tried to cut in.

"Lex, it's ok," he told her. "It's safer this way." He sighed. "Maybe you were right to leave me."

"Steve!" she shouted, getting his attention. "This is what I've been trying to tell you this whole time."

"What?" he asked, confused.

"Oh shit," she mumbled to herself, knowing the secret was about to come out. "Steve...I haven't..._left_ you."

"What the hell are you talking about?" he asked.

"I never filed the papers," she finally confessed.

**how's that for a cliff hanger? lol please let me know what you think, hope you liked it! :) **


	11. Coming Clean

**as always, thank you for your wonderful, amazing reviews! i love all your feedback and i'm glad you're all enjoying the story. enjoy this next chapter! :) **

_Coming Clean_

The room was silent for a moment, everyone in shock. Alexia waited for Steve to say something but he just stared at her. Danny and Chin felt like awkward additions, wondering when they should try to leave the room. Alexia was playing with her hands nervously as she continued to wait for Steve to respond. Steve just kept staring at her, his arms crossed.

"Will you say something?" Alexia finally asked. She could hardly take the look he was giving her; it was somewhere between anger and disappointment.

"So you mean to tell me," Steve said, his tone level but angry. "That, for the last four months, we haven't actually been divorced?"

"...yes," she answered continuing to nervously play with her hands.

"Yeah, we're just gonna-" Danny started to say for him and Chin to leave, but Steve held up a hand to stop him. Steve hadn't actually heard what Danny was saying though as he was too focused on Alexia and what she had done.

"Ok," Steve said, trying to gather his racing thoughts. "What...I mean...How does that even happen?"

"The first few weeks," Alexia started to explain. "It was just that I was busy-"

"Busy?" Steve interrupted her with raised eye brows.

"Yes Steve, busy," she snapped. "You're not the only one here with a full time job and two kids." Steve rubbed his forehead, unable to believe what he was hearing. "Then, I don't know," she continued. "Things were just...better. You were home and I saw you with the girls-"

"That's what I kept trying to tell you!" he interrupted her. "Didn't I tell you, didn't I _promise_, that things would get better once I came home?"

"How was I supposed to know when that was?" she asked.

"Don't turn this back into that," he warned her. "Don't make this about me not being home."

"Stop yelling at me."

"Stop yelling at you?" he snapped at her. "Do you even realize what you put me through those eight months you kept sending me those papers, or what I've gone through since? And now you're just standing there saying, _oh never mind, I'm not divorcing you_."

"Steve, I'm _sorry,_" she told him. "Can we just talk about this?" She looked awkwardly over at Danny and Chin. "Preferably alone?"

"I can't right now," he said back. "Every second we're not looking for Hesse is a second wasted."

"Steve-"

"It waited four months, didn't it?" he asked her.

"Fine," she said coldly, turning and leaving the office. Once she was gone, the office was again tense and silent like it had been when Alexia broke the news to Steve. Only this time, Danny was the one to break it.

"What's that expression Chin?" Danny asked. "About the pot calling the kettle black?"

"Don't start Danno," Steve shook his head.

"Only, instead," Danny went on. "The pot is calling the kettle a liar." Steve gave him a look. "Hey, I'm sorry man, but it's true. You haven't been exactly honest with her these days either."

Steve sighed, knowing that Danny was right. He couldn't think about this right now though, he had to focus on protecting his family and finding Victor Hesse. They decided that the best way to track him would be to figure out how Hesse had gotten help with his previous injuries, given that he had been severely injured the night before. Once they found the doctor, they were able to close in on Hesse and finally make an arrest.

Steve felt a sense of relief, knowing that Hesse was now behind bars. His feeling went away though when he got back to his office and found a young woman there, claiming she was with the CIA. What she gave him was a connection between the Yakuza and Hesse; the connection was a man named Wo Fat. Steve didn't realize it at the time, but he had met Wo Fat previously and didn't think he was anyone to worry about. The truth was, he was everything to worry about.

Steve asked the woman, Jenna, why she was doing this. After hearing the story about her fiancee and knowing they needed all the help they could get, he asked her to work with them. With Hesse in jail though, he told everyone to go home for the night. It was time for him to go talk to Alexia and for them to be honest with each other. When he got to the house, Kono was sitting on the couch with Alexia; the girls were already asleep. They had updated her on catching Hesse, but she knew Steve would probably feel better if she waited for him to get back before she left.

"Thanks Kono," he told her as she got up to leave. Alexia remained at the couch, playing with her hands again.

"Sure thing," she nodded. "Bye Lex."

"Bye, thanks," Alexia said as Kono left. Steve took a seat next to her; he was turned to face her slightly while she remained facing straight forward. He noticed there were a few crayon drawings laying out on the coffee table.

"The girls drew you these," she said, sliding them over to him. Steve smiled weakly as he sifted through the drawings.

"There's three here," he said curiously.

"Yeah, well," she said, seeming embarrassed. "They don't have _sorry I faked a divorce_ cards so..."

"You drew this?" he asked, slightly amused.

"I never really was an artist," she said lightly, finally looking up at him. "Steve-"

"Don't say sorry," he stopped her.

"I really messed up," Alexia said, wiping at her eyes.

"I did too," Steve assured her; she looked at him, confused. "I haven't been exactly honest either." She bit her lip.

"This is going to be a long night, isn't it?" she asked; he nodded. "Could I go first?"

"If you want," he answered; she took her time before starting, not sure what she should say.

"It was so hard for me," Alexia finally spoke. "When you were away...so I just did the only thing I guess I could think of." Steve nodded solemnly, knowing this part of the story. "And, like I said, I know it's a pathetic excuse...but at first I didn't have time to go and file the papers. And then by that point..." She trailed off for a moment.

"I don't know," she admitted softly. "I guess my reasoning was that, I wouldn't care or worry if we weren't together anymore." She laughed a little. "But that was obviously a line of bull I fed myself." He smiled a little. "I just can't stop."

"Stop what?" he asked, lightly stroking her hair; it gave Alexia chills.

"Caring about you," she answered. "Loving you." He moved over, leaning in to kiss her temple.

"I love you too," he whispered in her ear; she turned to him.

"I'm so sorry I hurt you," she said, her eyes welling up again. Steve cupped her cheek with his hand, wiping a tear away with his thumb. Rather than say he wasn't angry with her anymore, he leaned it to kiss her instead. It was soft at first, but then became much deeper. Feeling her wince though, he pulled away. In the heat of it, he temporarily forgot her fragile state; between her car accident and the attack the previous night, she was sore all over.

"I'm sorry," he told her.

"It's all right," she assured him, resting her forehead against his; she smiled a little. "Well worth it."

"Yeah?" he asked, laughing a little.

"Yeah," she smiled, kissing him again; they were silent for a moment. "So...I don't know where to go from here," she said honestly. "Do me and the girls move in here? I mean..."

"I'd love that," he told her; he thought to himself for a moment. "How do we tell the girls?"

"Oh no," Alexia said. She was realizing the full gravity of what she had done. Not only had this hurt Steve, but it was going to hurt the girls as well. How would they even begin to understand this situation. "This is going to be so confusing to them."

"I think," Steve said back. "They'll be too happy to be confused." He knew that he was too happy to be concerned about what Alexia had done.

"Hopefully you're right," she agreed. She then turned to face Steve fully, sitting cross legged. "So what did you want to tell me?"

"Oh no," he groaned, rubbing his forehead. This was going to ruin their perfect moment of getting back together. "Lex, I'm so sorry."

"For what?"

"Everything I'm about to tell you," he sighed.

"It's ok," she promised. "Just...tell me." Steve sighed, gathering his thoughts.

"After my dad died," he started out saying. "I found this case he was working on. And...it turns out he was working on my mother's murder case." She raised her eye brows.

"Your mom had a car accident," she said in confusion; Steve shook his head.

"Someone planted a bomb in her car," he told her; he swallowed hard at the thought of the next part. "The same person was the reason the brakes went out in your car." Alexia's mouth dropped open.

"_What_?"

"I know," he told her, reading her expression. "I know, I should have told you. But-"

"I'm not mad," she shook her head quickly, stopping him. "Just...oh my God, Steve."

"I know," he nodded again; he knew it only got more complicated from here. "And, Lex, the man that broke in last night...the one that killed my father...he's working for the same people as the ones that killed my mother."

"So," she said hesitantly. "There's someone else out there." Steve nodded quietly.

"I'm not going to let anything happen," he promised her. "I'm going to do whatever I have to to keep you and the girls safe." She took his hand.

"I know."

Steve continued to promise her that everything was going to be all right, even though he had no idea about that himself. He was worried, knowing now that his mother and father's murders were connected. One thing he was sure of though, he was going to do everything he could to keep his girls safe.

That night, Alexia fell asleep on the couch with him and he gently picked her up and carried her to bed. Along with his new found constant state of worry, Steve also felt amazingly happy at the same time. He had been shocked, and truthfully a little angry at Alexia when he found out she hadn't actually divorced him. He would be lying though if he said it wasn't the best news he had ever heard. He had gotten exactly what he wanted; he had his wife back.

Being able to kiss her before had been amazing. Now, he was able to fall asleep holding her once again, something he had been longing to do. The next morning, they were curled up in the blankets, his arm over her waist. Steve woke up when he felt Alexia shifting under his arm.

"Morning," he murmured, his eyes still closed.

"Steve," she said, patting his arm and sitting up a little. Steve opened his eyes and saw Lucy standing in the room in her pajamas, looking at them curiously.

"Whatcha doing?" she asked, rubbing her eyes as she was still sleepy. Since the alleged divorce, Lucy had gotten used to not seeing her parents be together like they used to; that included no longer sleeping in the same room.

"Um," Alexia said, looking at Steve quickly before looking back to Lucy. "You know what, Lucy? Could you get Julia and meet us downstairs?"

"Ok!" Lucy nodded enthusiastically, running out of the room to wake her sister. Steve and Alexia got up to go downstairs. Alexia stopped and grabbed her bag on the floor, sifting through it until she found a smaller zippered bag inside. Steve smiled when he saw she pulled out her engagement ring and wedding band, slipping them both on; she smiled back at him. When they got downstairs, the girls were sitting on the couch. It reminded Steve of how they were sitting when he and Alexia had told them about the divorce. This time though, he didn't have the sick feeling in his stomach.

"You're wearing your ring," Julia immediately noticed.

"Girls," Alexia started to say but Julia interrupted her.

"Are you guys married again?" she asked, not masking the excitement in her voice; Lucy's eyes got wide with excitement too.

"I know this is probably confusing but-" Alexia tried to say, but Julia got up and ran over to hug them both. She didn't care what the reason was or how it happened; her parents were back together. Lucy wasn't far behind Julia as she ran over to hug the parents. Alexia explained to the girls that her and Steve were going to work on things, that they would be a family again and that they were going to live at the house with Steve. Like the girls, Steve couldn't stop smiling.

* * *

Things were perfect for a few weeks, with Steve coming home every night to his reunited family. It was December now and the girls would be on break for winter vacation soon. With Five-0 getting closer with their leads on Wo Fat, Steve encouraged Alexia to take the girls to California for awhile to visit Seth and Mary. He didn't like that he wouldn't be around to protect them, but for now he felt that it would be safer for them to be off the island. He knew he made the right decision when someone close to their team, Laura Hills, had been murdered.

The case took an unexpected turn though, when it seemed that Steve was being framed for her murder. Looking for answers lead him to the governor and her possible affiliation with Wo Fat and his parents' murders. As everything in Hawaii started to get more hectic, things in California were relatively calm. Alexia let Mary have the girls for the night, choosing to hang out with her brother at his home. They were flipping through tv channels as they caught up, sitting on the couch and having a beer together.

"You seem really happy," he commented.

"I am," she nodded. "This is the happiest I've been in a long time."

"I'm glad sis," he smiled at her. She smiled back, getting up to go to the kitchen to get another beer.

"You want another?" she called as she opened the refrigerator.

"Lex!" Seth said, calling her back. She hurried back into the living room, wondering what was going on. On the tv was a picture of Steve; the woman on the news was announcing that someone from the governor's task force was now responsible for her murder and had been arrested earlier that evening.

"There's no way," Alexia shook her head, grabbing her purse and heading towards the door. "Get the girls from Mary in the morning, ok?"

"Where are you going?"

"Hawaii!"

**Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think about the reunion :) also, i've been thinking of posting a new story under the show the vampire diaries. wondering if anyone would be interested in reading that? let me know if you would. thanks a ton! :) **


	12. New Beginnings

**thanks as always for the favorites/follows/reviews! i hope you know how much your feedback means to me. i really appreciate it! hope you like this next update :) **

_New Beginnings _**  
**

Steve had been sitting a jail cell for almost a week. Danny would come to see him sometimes and told him that Alexia was back on the island; the girls were still in California with Seth. Steve didn't want Alexia to come visit him. It was hard enough to be stuck in jail for a crime he didn't commit, he didn't need his wife to see him like this too. Unfortunately for him, she didn't always take to listening to him. When he heard that he had a visitor, he assumed that it was Danny. He didn't expect Alexia to be sitting on the other side of the glass. He sighed, taking a seat and picking up the phone.

"So, you let your work wife visit but not your actual wife?" Alexia asked lightly.

"I didn't want you to see me in here," he admitted; she only shrugged. She knew that he couldn't have done what everyone was saying he did.

"I've been looking at the stuff from your dad's toolbox with Jenna," she went on. Before Laura Hills had died, she had started taking some of the evidence from Steve's father's toolbox and sending it back to Steve.

"No," Steve groaned, running a hand through his hair. "No, Lex. I don't want you involved." She looked to the left and right, before looking back at him.

"You see where you are?" Alexia asked; he ignored her.

"Are the girls still with Seth?" he asked; she nodded.

"Seth and Mary are taking turns," she told him. "Mary is bringing the girls back tomorrow though." Steve nodded, then rubbed his forehead.

"What did you tell them?"

"That we're both busy with work right now," she explained. "I mean, it's kinda true."

"Don't get involved Lex," he warned her. She was already in enough danger just by being his wife, let alone if she started digging through evidence.

"Luckily for me, you can't really stop me," she said as she prepared to go. "I'll see you tomorrow baby, love you."

"Love you too," he sighed, hanging up the phone.

* * *

Alexia went home, where she had left Jenna with the evidence while she went to visit Steve. While Jenna sat at the table with her computer, Alexia had photos of all the evidence spread out on the living room floor. She sat in front of the photos, holding a key in her hands as she tried to figure out what it could possibly open. She figured that it might be a locker key, but there were tons of places on the island that had lockers. She had left the front door open, letting the breeze come in through the screen door. Hearing someone come in, she looked up.

"Joe!" she smiled when she saw him, jumping to her feet to go hug him; she hadn't seen him in years.

"Hey sweetheart," Joe smiled, hugging her back. "How are things?"

"They've been better," she shrugged, noting the pictures of evidence on the floor; he nodded.

"What's that?" he asked, seeing the key in her hand.

"I think it's to a locker," she explained. "Do you know if John kept a locker somewhere on the island?"

"There's a few places I can think of," Joe nodded, knowing enough of John's investigation. "Want me to check it out?"

"Please?" she asked, handing him the key. Before anything else could be said, her cell phone started ringing. She grabbed it from the coffee table, seeing that it was the emergency room. "Hello?"

_"Doctor McGarrett?"_

"Yes?"

_"We got a call that they were bringing in Steve," _the nurse on the other end explained._ "I wanted to let you know so you could-"_

"I'm coming," Alexia said, hanging up the phone. "Joe, Jenna, I'm really sorry but I have to get to the hospital."

"Something wrong?" Jenna asked.

"Steve's going to the hospital," Alexia said, grabbing her bag and keys. "I have to get over there."

"Go, go," Joe nodded. "Don't worry about anything here."

Alexia sat in the emergency room for what felt like forever. She reasoned that it only felt like forever because she was waiting for her husband to get there. When she looked at her phone though, she realized that she had been sitting there for an abnormally long amount of time. She knew that she had gotten there before Steve did and that they would have told her the second he got there. _Had something happened along the way?_ She began to worry, but then she saw Danny coming to sit next to her.

"Danny, what's going on?" she asked, concern in her voice.

"Steve's not coming," he told her.

"Why not?"

"Well," Danny said hesitantly. "He, uh, may have broken out of jail."

"What?!" Alexia asked, her mouth dropping.

* * *

Steve was laying on Max's couch, his abdomen sore from where Victor Hesse had stabbed him. He jumped when he heard a knock at the door, but then it was only Danny and Alexia coming into Max's home. They had the same shocked and somewhat annoyed expression on their face.

"Is there something wrong with you?" Alexia snapped at him. "You broke out of jail?!"

"I didn't ask to get stabbed Lex," he reminded her; he smiled a little. "Plus, the girls have their recital in a few days so I couldn't miss-"

"Save it," she said, trying to hide the smile playing on her lips. How was it that, even when he broke out of jail, he was still adorable. "Let me see," she said, rolling up his shirt to check on his wound. "Who did this?"

"Who do you think?" he asked as she rolled his shirt back down. "Hesse." She raised her eye brows at him.

"Hesse did it to get him out of jail though," Danny said, hints of sarcasm in his voice. "So, really, it's like they're partners in crime now." Steve gave him a look and Danny shrugged.

"Well, if you two could have just waited a day you could have gotten out without getting stabbed," Alexia told him.

She explained to Steve that the key she found was to an airport locker where his father had kept some evidence from the case he had been working on. In the locker, Joe had found a video that is father had filmed with a hidden camera in the governor's office. Joe had called to let her know on her way to Steve that they were going over to the governor's office now to see if the camera was still there; if it was, they would have proof that Steve hadn't shot the governor.

Within hours, they had proof that Steve was innocent. After speaking with the new governor, Steve had Five-0 reinstated. Steve couldn't wait to get home and was excited for the girls to get back tomorrow. They had some tough times in the last few months, but this week had been one of the hardest. The next day, he drove to the airport to pick up Mary and the girls while Alexia was at work; they saw him at baggage claim before he saw them.

"Daddy!"

He turned when he heard them, smiling as they came running over. They would never know what happened that week, but he hugged them extra tight because of it. Seeing his sister come over, he stood up. Lucy still hung onto his leg and Julia held his hand.

"Hey Mary," he said to her, not remembering the last time he saw her. Since their mother's death, they hadn't been as close as they were when they were children. Mary hadn't even been back for their father's funeral.

"Hey Steve," she said, smiling a little. "I hope you don't mind, I told the girls we could go to the beach."

"No," he smiled back. "That would be great. What do you say girls?"

"Yeah!"

* * *

Alexia was glad to be back at work and to have things start to get back to normal. Steve had sent her a text message saying he was at the beach with girls and Mary. She was happy that he got to spend some time with his sister now; she knew they both missed each other. Alexia was at lunch in the cafeteria with Malia, catching up.

"How are things with Steve home?" Malia asked, sipping her water.

"A million times better," Alexia told her. "I'm just glad that things can start getting back to normal, you know? With him and the girls..." Alexia trailed off, seeing Malia's hand. "Wait, wait, wait," she smiled. "What is that?" Malia smiled back; instead of wearing her engagement ring from Chin on a chain around her neck, she was wearing it on her finger again.

"You know I've been seeing Chin again," Malia explained, unable to stop smiling; Alexia nodded. "We've decided we want to get married, this spring."

"Malia, that's great!" Alexia congratulated her; she laughed. "This is great, everyone is getting back together."

"Not everyone," Malia bit her lip. "Did you hear about the baby thing with Danny and Rachel?"

"No," Alexia shook her head. "What happened?"

"I guess the baby is Stan's," Malia explained, relaying what Chin had told her. "So, she's moving back in with him."

"Oh my God," Alexia gasped. "That's awful." She shook her head. "I mean, I never really liked Rachel, but..."

"Oh me either," Malia shook her head; she smiled a little. "We'll just have to find Danny someone better."

"Absolutely," Alexia laughed in agreement; she took a sip of her water. "I was excited for them though, having another baby. I would have loved to babysit." She grinned at Malia. "Maybe you and Chin..."

"Not for now," Malia laughed. "There will be another baby around sooner than you think though."

"What do you mean?" Alexia asked curiously.

"Two kids and you don't know about yourself by now?" Malia teased her. "You're picking at your food, you look pale like you're going to be sick-"

"I'm exhausted," Alexia interrupted her. "I'm just run down."

"Uh huh," Malia said skeptically. "Lex, I've predicted your last two pregnancies. I'm like a human pregnancy test." Alexia laughed. "You want to go over to the clinic and check it out?"

"I don't think so," Alexia shook her head, remembering how she found out she was pregnant with Julia. "I'll just wait."

"Lex, you have the worst patience ever," Malia laughed; seeing Alexia's somewhat serious face, she stopped. "What's going on?"

"I don't know," Alexia shrugged. "I mean, I don't know if right now is the best time for a baby."

"Why's that?" Malia asked curiously.

"Because of everything that's going on," Alexia told her. "Steve is trying to act like he's not worried, but he's super on edge. I woke up the other night and he was putting in a security system. I thought being married to Steve _was_ my security system." Malia smiled a little. "Danny says sometimes if they're out driving Steve goes by the school and daycare, just in case. And he's always checking my car now..."

"He's just being protective," Malia told her, knowing everything that had been going on. "How could you think Steve would be anything but ecstatic?"

"I just feel like it will give him something else to worry about," Alexia explained. "With the pregnancy and then having another kid to worry about-"

"You're talking crazy," Malia stopped her. "Just talk to him about it, all right?"

* * *

Alexia was home already when Steve got back from the beach with the girls; Mary was staying with a friend on the island. When they got inside, Steve could hear Alexia upstairs in the bathroom getting sick. He had the girls go into the living room to pick out a movie for them to watch while he went upstairs to check on Alexia.

"Babe?" Steve asked, coming into their room and going over to their bathroom door; the door was opened a little and he pushed it open. Seeing her sick, he went to kneel next to her, taking her hair. "Are you all right?" She nodded, closing the toilet lid and flushing it before getting up to rinse out her mouth.

"Are you sick?" he asked gently, feeling her head.

"I'm all right," she promised, leaning back against the sink. Before he had gotten back with the girls, she had taken a home pregnancy test which came back positive. "Steve, there's something I need to talk to you about."

"There's something I need to talk to you about too," he told her, taking her hand. On the way back from the beach with the girls, he had received a call from Jenna asking him for help with something.

"You first," Alexia told him, knowing that what he had to say was probably more urgent because it could be related to work.

"Jenna called me on the way here," Steve explained. "You remember how I explained her connection to Wo Fat, through her fiancee?" Alexia nodded. "She found where her fiancee is and she needs someone to go with her to deliver the ransom."

"I thought her fiancee was dead," Alexia said back. "Where is he?" Steve sighed, knowing what her reaction was going to be when he told her where he was going; he broke the news to her as gently as possible. "Steve, no," she shook her head. "No, you can't go there."

"Lex, I know," he told her. "I know, but if it was you or-"

"Well, if we find ourselves in a situation where I'm being held in a foreign country, please by all means," she said back. "Steve, I'm not ok with this."

"I can't expect you to be," he assured her. "But, Jenna is a friend of mine and I can't let her do this alone." Alexia bit her lip.

"You know what's in a few days," she reminded him. Alexia felt like this was how things had been before, where he missed out on all of these events for the girls because he was away for work; next week was their ballet recital.

"I'll be back in time," he promised, squeezing her hand. "Just a few days." Alexia knew there was nothing she could do or say to change his mind. "What did you want to tell me?"

"Um," Alexia hesitated, not wanting to tell him about the baby yet. "Did Chin tell you him and Malia are getting married?"

"No," Steve said, smiling. "No, that's great!" She nodded.

"It is," she agreed. "Steve...please be careful."

"I will," he promised.

* * *

By now, Alexia knew that she should have heard from Steve. Even if she hadn't heard from him directly, she knew that he should have at least made contact with Danny. After she dropped the girls off, she went over to their office. She found Danny, Chin, Kono, and Joe standing around nervously. When Alexia asked what was going on, they told her that they thought Steve might have been taken. Panic set in and Alexia felt like she couldn't breathe. Danny went over to her, taking her arms to steady her.

"Hey, it's all right," he promised her. "Really, we're going to go get him back all right?" He hugged her tight. "We'll bring him back."

Alexia waited anxiously to hear back from Danny and the others for two days. She acted like nothing was wrong for the sake of the girls, who were wondering where their dad was. Their dance recital was that night. They could never understand where he was or what he was doing; she understood their disappointment with him not being there for this. Sadly, she sat alone in the crowded auditorium waiting for the girls' show to start. Feeling someone rush to take the empty seat next to her, she jumped; it was Steve.

"Oh my God, Steve!" she said in a loud whisper; the lights were already down. "What happened?" She looked him over. Though he had cleaned up, you could still see in his face that he had been beaten and abused.

"Do you actually want to know?" he whispered back; she shook her head.

"Tell me later," she said, turning her attention to the front. On stage, the girls got in line with their ballet class. Julia and Lucy both looked to see where their mother was sitting. Their smiles got big when they saw Steve sitting next to her, who was smiling back and waving a little.

"They're so excited right now," Alexia said softly.

"I told you I wouldn't miss it," Steve said, taking her hand.

* * *

After the recital, the four of them drove home together. The girls couldn't stop talking and were very excited to have their dad there for the recital. He told them they did a great job and he was very proud of them. Soon after they got home, they put the girls to bed. In their room, Steve explained to Alexia what had happened to him when he tried to help Jenna, that it had been a trap and that her fiancee was dead; he also explained that they lost Jenna while they were there.

"I'm sorry," she told him; though she was angry with Jenna, she knew that her and Steve had been friends.

"It's all right," he said back as they finished getting ready for bed. "Are you sure you're feeling better?"

"Steve," she said hesitantly as they stood by their bed. "There's something I need to talk to you about."

"What's wrong?" he asked worriedly. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," she said quickly. "Everything is fine. I just, um...I don't really know how to say this or..."

"Say what?" he asked.

"I'm pregnant," she blurted out finally; Steve was surprised.

"You're pregnant?" he asked; she nodded and he smiled. "We're having another baby?"

"Yes," she nodded. He smiled big, kissing her and hugging her. He picked her up and continued to kiss her. Like with the girls, he was through the roof excited about having another baby.

"Lex, this is great," Steve said.

"Yeah?"

"Of course," he assured her. "Babe, I'm so happy."

"Me too," she smiled back; it finally hit her. "Oh my God, we're having a baby."

"We are," he grinned, kissing her again.

**hope you liked the update! :) please let me know what you thought! **


	13. Nerves

**thank you so much for the reviews/follows! as always i'm so happy to hear from you! glad that everyone liked the update. at the end of this chapter i have a small favor to ask...here is the next chapter, enjoy! :) **

_Nerves_

The next morning after the news of the baby, Steve was woken up before his alarm went off. He woke up when he felt Alexia bolt from bed, running into their bathroom. Steve remembered this part of her being pregnant very well, the morning sickness. The more he thought about it though, he didn't remember a whole lot about Alexia being pregnant. Going into the bathroom to check on her he realized it was probably because he hadn't been able to be around while she was pregnant with either of the girls; this was his first full pregnancy.

"You all right?" he asked from the door way; she was sitting on the floor, leaning back against the bathtub next to the toilet.

"Uh huh," she nodded, her eyes closed.

"You want me to make you something for breakfast?" he offered.

"Ugh, no," she groaned, getting up finally to brush her teeth. When she was done, she turned to smile at him. "But thank you."

"Of course," he said, kissing her once. "Are you sure you're all right babe?"

"Yeah," she nodded, going to change for work. "Steve, really, I'm all right." She laughed a little as she changed from one of his old Annapolis shirts into her scrubs shirt. "This isn't my first pregnancy."

"I know," he said as she pulled on her bottoms now. "But...it's mine."

"Aw, babe," she smiled. "It's very sweet, but really you don't have to worry about anything."

"Ok," he nodded, taking her hand. "I just feel bad I wasn't around as much when you were pregnant with Julia and Lucy."

"It wasn't your fault," she shrugged. "Don't think about it too much, you're here now."

"You're right," he told her. "I'm here now, so I'm going to be here for everything. Doctor's appointments, anything you need-" She cut him off, kissing him.

"Why don't you get changed and we'll start with telling the girls," she smiled. Steve smiled back, remembering this feeling of wanting to tell everyone that he was going to be a father. He started to feel a little sad since the first person he called when Alexia was pregnant the other times was his dad; he wished that he could tell him now.

Downstairs, Steve started making breakfast for the girls before they left for school. Lucy was already awake, hanging off of his leg as he walked around the kitchen. Lucy was his early bird child, while Julia could sleep in for hours.

"Julia!" Alexia called up the stairs. "You're going to be late for school!"

"I'm coming!" Julia called back. She came down the stairs a few moments later, dropping her backpack by the door before joining her family at the table. She observed her parents who both seemed extra cheerful as she poured syrup on her waffles.

"You guys are being weird," Julia commented, sipping her orange juice; Alexia and Steve both smiled at her.

"Well," Steve told her. "Your mom and I have some good news."

"What is it?" Julia asked.

"What news?" Lucy asked, her mouth full.

"Mommy's going to have another baby," Alexia smiled at the girls.

"Really?" Julia asked.

"I'm not going to be the baby anymore?" Lucy asked; Steve laughed.

"No, you're going to be a big sister now too," he told her.

"Cool!"

As usual in the morning, Alexia took Julia to the elementary school on her way to work while Steve dropped Lucy off at daycare on his way to work. Alexia talked with Julia about what she wanted to do for her eighth birthday next week. While Steve was driving Lucy, she couldn't stop asking questions about the new baby.

"When will the new baby get here?" Lucy asked.

"Not for a few months," he told her.

"Will the new baby get your old room?"

"Mhmm," he nodded.

"Will the baby be a boy or a girl?"

"We won't know for a couple weeks sweetheart," Steve answered. "What do you think the baby will be?"

"A girl," she giggled.

"You think so?" he smiled, looking at her in the rear view mirror.

"Mhmm," she nodded.

Once he dropped off Lucy, Steve headed over to work. He couldn't stop smiling the entire way. When he got there, the others were already there. They didn't currently have a case, but they were going through the video they had found at the governor's office. They had come across a meeting that Steve's father had been at with the governor and Wo Fat. Without audio, they couldn't quite make out what they were talking about. However, they picked up on something that Steve's father had said; that something was the word Shellburne.

"Hey," Steve smiled as he came in; everyone looked at him curiously at first, but didn't say anything.

"Hey," Danny said. "So, we still haven't figured out what they are talking about on this tape."

"He's right," Kono said. "Shellburne could be anything. A person, a place..." Steve was nodding along, realizing the seriousness of the situation. However, he still had the same smile on his face.

"Are you even listening?" Danny interrupted, raising his eye brows at Steve.

"What?" Steve asked defensively. "Yes, yes I'm listening."

"You sure?" Danny asked. "Because, this isn't exactly good news but you're still smiling."

"Danny's right," Chin agreed. "What's going on?"

"Lex is pregnant," Steve told them, grinning. They all congratulated him, taking turns hugging him.

"Steve, that's great," Kono told him.

"It really is," Danny nodded. "So, I'll be taking bets on whether it's a boy or girl."

"What?" Steve laughed.

"What?" Danny asked innocently. "It's this thing we used to do in Jersey. If a guy at work was expecting a kid, we'd all bet on what it was gonna be."

"I'm thinking another girl," Kono said. "It's in your track record."

"I'm going to go with boy," Chin said. "They're about due." Steve laughed, shaking his head a little as he went into his office; Danny followed close behind.

"Hey man, really though congrats," Danny told him. "I'm sure you two are really excited."

"I am," Steve nodded, sighing a little.

"What was that?" Danny asked, looking him over.

"What?"

"That sighing thing you just did," Danny commented. "What's going on?"

"Don't get me wrong," Steve said. "I'm so happy that we're having a baby. But...part of me is kinda nervous too, about the pregnancy."

"Why?" Danny asked, confused. "You already have two kids, you should be experts at this by now."

"No, she's the expert," Steve shook his head. "I was hardly ever around when she was pregnant with the girls, I wasn't even there when she actually had them."

"Oh," Danny said, not as surprised anymore. "Well...it's normal to be nervous about that," he reasoned. "I remember being crazy nervous when Rachel was pregnant with Grace. It's a dad thing." Danny smiled. "You'll figure it out though."

"Thanks man," Steve said.

"So, you want in on this bet?" Danny asked, changing the subject. "I think I'm with Kono on the girl thing."

"Danny, I'm not going to bet on my kid," Steve told him; Danny raised his eye brows and Steve rolled his eyes. "If I had to say, probably a girl."

* * *

A few days went by, with Steve being extra attentive. Alexia appreciated it, but she hoped he knew that he didn't have to do all of this. After all, this wasn't the first time she had been pregnant. With the exception of Julia being early, everything had always gone smoothly. Rather than having nerves, she was excited that he was getting share in all this with her this time.

Tonight was the night before Julia's birthday party. They were having people over to swim and have a cookout, followed by a bonfire. Steve woke up in the middle of the night and reached for Alexia; her side of the bed was empty though. He got up and went downstairs where he found her in the kitchen, sitting at the counter.

"What are you doing up?" he asked, standing on the opposite side.

"Eating," she answered, taking another bite.

"Pickles?" he asked with raised eye brows; she nodded. "You hate pickles."

"Not when I'm pregnant," she shrugged; he scrunched up his face.

"Are you dipping them in peanut butter?" he asked.

"Don't knock it till you try it," she told him, offering him some.

"I'll pass," he told her, smiling a little; he reached over to rest his hand on hers. "How are you feeling?"

"Good," she nodded. "Just ready to go back to bed."

* * *

The next day was Julia's birthday party. A few of her friends from school got dropped off by their parents. Danny brought Grace over, staying with Alexia and Steve while the girls all went swimming. Kono came over as well, as did Chin and Malia. While the girls played in the shallow water, the adults sat at the table under the deck, talking.

"So how are you feeling Lex?" Malia asked her. "Cravings kick in yet?" Alexia nodded.

"Last night it was the pickles and peanut butter," she laughed.

"The weird cravings are a real thing?" Kono asked curiously. "I thought that was a myth or something." Malia shook her head.

"One time I witnessed this one putting hummus on a taco," Malia laughed.

"Ooo, do we have hummus?" Alexia asked, looking over at Steve.

"I can get some later," he offered.

"Oh, you don't want to go down that road my friend," Danny told him. "Because soon, it'll be three in the morning and you'll be driving everywhere looking for the right brand of sour candy because the ones you got weren't chewy enough."

"I don't think I'm ever having kids," Kono said, making them laugh.

"I'm going to go get Julia's cake," Alexia said, getting up from the table. "Can you call the girls up?"

Steve called the girls up and they sat around the table while Alexia lit the candles on the cake. They all sang happy birthday to Julia before she blew out the candles. Everyone else clapped, but Alexia's eyes welled up with tears.

"Lex, what's wrong?" Steve asked worriedly.

"Nothing," she said, wiping her eyes. "Nothing, I'm fine. I'm happy...it's my baby's birthday...and she's getting so big..." She started welling up more. "I'm sorry, I'll be right back." She went up to the deck so she could go through the back door into the house to get herself together. Steve followed close behind to make sure she was all right.

"What's going on with my mom?" Julia asked the remaining adults; they weren't sure how to explain pregnancy hormones to an eight year old.

"My mom's been doing that a lot too," Grace chimed in. "I think it's a new baby thing."

"Oh," Julia nodded going back to her cake.

* * *

A few days after a party, Steve called Joe and asked him to come over. He had asked him to come over to discuss what John had been working on before he died; this was a good time for it since the girls were at school and Alexia was at work. Steve knew that if his father had trusted anyone with this information, it would have been Joe. In order to find out what Wo Fat was up to, he needed to figure out who or what Shellburne was. Joe let himself into the house, finding Steve in what had been John's old office. On the desk was a picture of Julia and Lucy.

"These your girls?" Joe asked, looking at the picture; Steve nodded. "They're beautiful." He laughed. "Thank God they look like their mother." Steve laughed too.

"They're good girls," Steve agreed. "Lex is pregnant again."

"Yeah?" Joe asked; Steve nodded. "Well, congrats son. That's great news." Steve smiled.

"Thank you," Steve told him; he then became serious. "You know what happened awhile back, with Hesse breaking into the house."

"I know all about that," Joe said. "He's dead now though, there's nothing for you to worry about."

"You know that's not true," Steve insisted. "You know it had to do with Wo Fat and my father's investigation." Joe was quiet. "What is Shellburne?"

"You shouldn't be getting into this," Joe warned him.

"This has to do with my family's safety," Steve said. "I'm not backing off."

"You'll be putting them in even more danger the more you dig into this," Joe said. "Let it go." Before Steve could reply, they both turned when they heard the front door opening. Going into the front room, they saw that Alexia had come home from work.

"Hey," Steve said as she shut the door behind her. "Everything all right?"

"Fine," she nodded. "They, uh, just don't want doctors in the ER that get nauseous at the sight of blood."

"They sent you home?"

"Just for today," she explained. "They did this when I was pregnant with the girls, they just had me over in the family clinic while I was pregnant." Steve nodded. Alexia looked between Steve and Joe. "What's going on?"

"I just stopped by to congratulate Steve on the new baby," Joe said, preparing to leave; he stopped to kiss Alexia's cheek. "Congratulations sweetheart."

"Thank you," she said as he left; she looked at Steve in confusion when Joe was gone. "What was that?"

"Nothing," he shook his head. "Don't worry about it."

"Don't worry about it?" she asked with raised eye brows. "Ok, the last time you told me not to worry about it someone broke into the house and I was almost-"

"Just stuff with my dad's case," he stopped her, not needing to relive that night. "Same stuff as always, nothing new to worry about. Ok?" She nodded, but didn't seem quite convinced. "I should get going, do you need anything?"

"No, I'm all right," she assured him as he stopped to kiss her on his way out. "Love you."

"Love you too," he told her, leaving the house.

* * *

Steve got back from work late that night. When he got there, he was shocked to find the door to the house wide open. He ran up to the dark house, turning the lights on as he searched it.

"Lex!" he called. "Girls!" The house was silent. He ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time. He checked each of the girls rooms and found them to be empty. He then rushed to the room that he shared with Alexia. He found her laying on the floor, unconscious. When he knelt down next to her, he saw that she was bleeding.

"Lex," he said, trying to wake her. "Lex, baby, come on. Look at me." She didn't have a pulse. "Lex!"

* * *

Steve was jolted awake from his nightmare. Immediately, he looked next to him where he saw Alexia laying asleep. He sat up, taking a deep breath and trying to get ahold of himself. Quietly so he didn't wake up Alexia, he got out of bed and went to check on the girls. Each of them were in their rooms, tucked in under the blankets. When he got back into bed, he remained seated upright; he couldn't go back to sleep after that.

"Steve?" Alexia asked sleepily; she sat up next to him, rubbing the back of his neck. "Baby, are you all right?"

"I didn't mean to wake you," he told her, taking her hand and kissing the back of it.

"I thought I felt you get out of bed," she explained. "Everything all right?" He nodded.

"Just a dream," he assured her, though it felt more like he was trying to assure himself. "You know, the kind where you feel like you're falling?"

"Mmm," she nodded, kissing his shoulder.

"You all right?" he asked her, stroking her hair.

"I'm all right if you are," she smiled; he smiled a little.

"Well, I'm fine," he promised, kissing her once. "Go back to sleep."

"You too," she said, pulling him down to lay next to her. He pulled her close, letting her head rest against his chest. He stayed wide awake though as she drifted off back to sleep. He was determined to find out what Shellburne was and what it was that Wo Fat wanted. It was the only way to keep his growing family safe.

**thanks for reading! as always, please let me know your thoughts! the favor is i have a poll in my profile regarding this story, it's about the gender of the baby! i won't say for a few chapters so it will be open for awhile. vote to let me know your thoughts! :)**


	14. Fatherhood

**thanks so much for the reviews/follows/favorites! :) and thanks for all your feedback in the poll. i'm not sure when i'll announce the baby's gender (maybe in the next update?) but it will be open until i do if you still want to vote lol enjoy this chapter! :) **

_Fatherhood _

Alexia was working the late hours in the hospital's clinic that night, leaving Steve home alone with the girls. They were short a doctor, so she had to stay later until the next shift showed up. By the time she got home, it was almost midnight. As soon as she walked in, she found Steve and the girls in the living room.

The tv was on, but they were asleep in a fort they had built in the middle of the room. There were chairs on either side and a sheet over top; under the fort they were laying on piles of blankets and pillows. Quietly, Alexia closed the door and turned off the tv before taking each of the girls upstairs to bed. When she got back downstairs, Steve had turned on his side and was still asleep. Keeping from laughing, she crawled under the fort to lay next to him, kissing him lightly.

"You're home," he said sleepily, smiling a little as he kept his eyes closed.

"Mhmm," she smiled. "How was your night?"

"Good," he yawned, opening his eyes now. "I won't lie though, I think I'm princess movied out."

"Well, the fort makes it a little manlier," she teased him.

"That's what I thought," he laughed, taking her hand. "How was work?"

"It was all right," she told him. "About the same as always." He nodded. "Are you ready for the doctor's tomorrow?" The next day was Alexia's first doctor's appointment since she had gotten pregnant. With the way things had worked out before, Steve hadn't gotten to take Alexia to the doctor before so it was his first appointment ever.

"Of course," he nodded. "Tomorrow at eleven, right?" She nodded. "Do you want me to pick you up?"

"No, you'll already be out," she shook her head, knowing he would already have been at work by that point. "I can meet you."

"Are you sure?" he asked; she smiled.

"Let me drive while I still can," she laughed. "Trust me, in a few months you'll have to drive me everywhere." He smiled back at her.

"All right baby," he said, kissing her once. "Ready for bed?"

"Mmmm, can we just sleep here?" she asked lazily.

"In the fort?" he laughed.

"It's so comfy."

"Come on," he laughed, getting up and then picking her up and carrying her towards the steps.

"I could get used to this," she said as he carried her upstairs towards their room.

"So, you won't let me drive you, but you will let me carry you everywhere?" he asked as he carried her into their room.

"I'm complicated," she laughed.

* * *

Since Steve's talk with Joe a few days prior, he was having difficulty sleeping as he contemplated Shellburne and what it could mean. Tonight though, completely exhausted, he finally managed to fall asleep. He felt like he had only been asleep for a few minutes, however, when a loud scream down the hall made him jump. He knew he wasn't imagining it when Alexia woke up as well.

"DADDY!" Lucy shrieked. Steve got up, rushing out of the room and down the hall. When he got to her room, he turned on the light and found her sitting on her bed, curled up in a ball crying.

"Lucy," he said, kneeling next to her bed so he was eye level with her. "Sweetheart, what's wrong?" Just then, Alexia arrived in the doorway.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"I had a bad dream," Lucy sniffed.

"I got her," Steve told Alexia, getting Lucy to uncurl from her ball so he could pick her up.

"Are you sure?" Alexia asked, aware of his recent sleeping issues.

"Yeah," he nodded; he was holding Lucy now who had a death grip on him. "Go back to sleep babe." Alexia nodded, leaving to go back to bed. Steve sat down on Lucy's bed now, as she kept her face buried in his t-shirt. Eventually though, she pulled back to look up at him.

"Daddy, are the doors all locked?" she asked him.

"Of course they are," he nodded.

"So, no one can get in? Right?" she asked. Steve sighed, realizing she must have had a nightmare about the night that Victor Hesse broke in.

"Right," he nodded again. "And you know what else?" She shook her head. "You girls are living with daddy again. And I won't ever let anything bad happen. Ok?"

"Ok," Lucy agreed.

Alexia woke up the next morning, surprised that the bed was empty. When she went down the hall to Lucy's room though, she realized that Steve must have promised to stay with Lucy until she fell asleep and had then fallen asleep himself on her floor. She thought he looked so funny laying on the floor under a pink fuzzy blanket. Lucy woke up then, as she heard Alexia coming into the room.

"Hi mommy," Lucy said as she came in.

"Morning honey," Alexia smiled at her. "Could you go wake your sister up for me?" Lucy nodded, sliding off her bed and going to the next room to wake up her sister. Alexia went over to where Steve was laying and sat cross legged next to him.

"Babe," she said softly. "Babe, wake up."

"Hm?" he said sleepily.

"Time to get up," she said, laughing a little; Steve started to sit up, rubbing his eyes.

"Where..." He looked around. "Lucy's room?"

"You slept on the floor," she told him.

"I figured that much," he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"My sleeping in the fort idea doesn't sound so crazy now, does it?" she asked; he smiled a little.

"Guess not," he shook his head.

"Is she all right?" Alexia asked; he nodded.

"Just a bad dream," he explained. "She'll be all right."

* * *

Steve went into work, more exhausted than usual. They had started on a new case and Steve apologized when he explained that he was going to have to leave in the middle of the day for Alexia's appointment, but he would be back; everyone understood. When they were alone, Danny asked Steve what was wrong and Steve explained he hadn't slept well the night before because Lucy had a nightmare.

"Uh huh," Danny nodded. "And every other day you've come in looking like hell?" Steve shook his head, rubbing his eyes.

"This Shellburne thing," Steve sighed. "Joe is ignoring my calls."

"You're being paranoid," Danny told him; Steve gave him a look. "And, hey, rightfully so. But your kids are fine, your wife is fine." Danny sighed. "Just take it from me, the more you bring this home with you the more it's going to affect them. You get worried and panicky, so will they."

"I know," Steve said, running a hand through his hair. "I know, you're right."

"Now go," Danny told him. "Don't you have a doctor's appointment to get to?"

* * *

Steve headed over to the doctor's office, meeting Alexia in the waiting room. They weren't there long before the nurse called them back. Alexia sat on the table as the nurse took her blood pressure and went over a few routine questions; Steve stood next to where Alexia was sitting.

"Are you taking any daily medications?" the nurse asked.

"No."

"Any allergies to medications?"

"Nope."

"And have you started a prenatal vitamin?"

"Yes," Alexia nodded.

"All right," the nurse smiled. "Doctor Hooper will be in to see you soon."

"Thanks," Alexia smiled back as the nurse left. She relaxed back on the table before turning her head to look at Steve. "Do you like the name Jack?"

"What?" Steve asked with raised eye brows as this was completely random.

"For a baby name," she explained. "I always liked the name Jack." She shrugged. "His name would be John, like your dad, but we would call him Jack."

"Babe, that's great," he told her. "And, my dad would have loved that. But, I thought if we had a boy we had always thought to name him Mark."

"Mmm," she thought about it, weighing both of their fathers names. "I like Jack better."

"Ok," he laughed. "How do you know it's going to be a boy though?" So far only her and Chin seemed to think that the baby was going to be a boy. Danny, Kono, and him all thought that the baby was going to be a girl; Julia and Lucy had also cast a vote for the baby being a girl.

"I just know," she insisted.

"You thought Julia was going to be a boy too," he reminded her.

"Can't be wrong both times," she shrugged. As she finished saying this, her doctor came into the room. She was dressed in a knee length skirt with a blue blouse, her white lab coat over it; her blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail.

"Hi Alexia," she smiled; she then turned to Steve to shake his hand. "Hi, I'm Doctor Hooper. You must be Steve?"

"Yes ma'am," he nodded. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to finally meet you too," Doctor Hooper smiled, having been Alexia's doctor when she was pregnant with Julia and Lucy; she pulled a chair over next to the table. "All right, before we start I just wanted to talk to you both about a few things." The way she said this made Steve nervous immediately.

"Like what?" Steve asked curiously.

"It's just an age thing," Alexia assured him. "Since I'm thirty five now-"

"Yeah, but you _just_ turned thirty five," he interrupted her. "So, it barely even counts."

"There is nothing wrong," Doctor Hooper assured him, seeing his concern. "Alexia is very healthy, there are just a few things I like to go over with women this age that are having kids."

"Like what?" Steve asked, looking back and forth between Alexia and her doctor.

"Some women," the doctor explained. "No matter what their age have a risk of high blood pressure or diabetes, just during pregnancy. The risk goes up the older you get."

"It's just something to watch out for," Alexia pointed out; she could tell he was worried. "Nothing definite and, babe, I'm healthy, I've had two normal pregnancies. All good signs."

"Yeah, but you had Julia early," Steve reminded her. "Does that have to do with any of this?"

"Not exactly," Doctor Hooper said. "But, again, with increased age there's an increased chance of premature delivery."

"And Julia was fine," Alexia jumped in. "And I was fine." Steve didn't seem convinced. "Steve, don't worry ok?"

"Don't tell me not to worry," he told her. "You just hit me with all this scary stuff about having a baby and-"

"All I'm saying," Alexia stopped him, propping herself up a little. "Is I'm only eight weeks, not even showing, and you're already on the edge. How are you going to be when I'm out to here." She was holding her hand out an exaggerated distance. "Eight and a half months pregnant and have trouble going down steps?"

"You have trouble with the steps?"

"Oh my God," Alexia said in exasperation, falling back onto the table. "That wasn't the point."

"Then what is the point?"

"The point is _you're_ the one that's going to have high blood pressure from this pregnancy if you don't relax," she told him; as they were arguing, the doctor was preparing to do the ultrasound.

"So, how long have you two been together?" Doctor Hooper asked, having Alexia roll up her shirt enough to expose her stomach.

"Twenty years this fall," Alexia said, turning her head over to look up at Steve; she smiled a little. "A long ass time."

"Seriously long," he agreed with a smile, taking her hand. These days, they would have arguments but they usually resolved pretty quickly. It wasn't like before during their "divorce" where they would fight for days.

"All right," Doctor Hooper smiled, turning the screen a little so they could see. "Right here," she pointed. "Is your baby."

"Wow," Steve said, still holding onto Alexia's hand.

"Oh definitely a boy this time," Alexia said.

"You wanna bet?" Steve laughed.

"I already put money in on Danny's bet," she told him casually; Steve hadn't told her about that in case it might upset her.

"What?" he asked in amusement.

"How could you think I wouldn't want in on that?" she laughed. "Anyway, we can tell at, what, twenty weeks right?"

"That's right," Doctor Hooper nodded.

"So about three months till we know it's Jack officially," Alexia told him.

"You're so competitive."

"Oh, I'm competitive?" she laughed.

* * *

That night, Steve woke up again close to three in the morning. He had been sleeping ok and neither of the girls had been having nightmares. When he noticed Alexia was gone though, he went downstairs to see what she was doing. He found her sitting at the counter again. She was eating right out of the peanut butter jar and had a book open in front of her.

"Just peanut butter tonight?" he asked, taking the bar stool next to hers.

"I ran out of pickles," she informed him, eating another spoonful.

"I'll put that on the list for tomorrow," he said. "Whatcha reading?"

"Baby name book," she said, hopping up from the counter and leaving the peanut butter at the counter. She nodded over that she wanted to sit on the couch.

"I thought you were set on Jack," he said, joining her on the couch.

"Yeah, but you have me paranoid that it's going to be a girl now," she told him. "And we need a girl name."

"Lex, the baby isn't due for seven months," he reminded her. "I'm sure we can figure out a girl name in the next seven months."

"Yeah, but I can't sleep," she said, flipping through the book.

"Is this some weird pregnancy hormonal thing?" he asked her; she turned to look at him, raising her eye brows. "Ok, so baby names," he said, changing the subject as he took the book from her. She turned so she was facing him, her legs resting over his lap.

"All right," he said, turning the page once. "Here, Catherine." Alexia scrunched up her face. "What, it's a good name. We could call her Cathy, or Cat, or-"

"That's my grandmother's name," she told him. "And we already did the _named after their great grandmother_ thing with Julia."

"Right," he agreed, though he didn't really see what the big deal was. He flipped ahead farther in the book. "What about...Rose?"

"No," she shook her head.

"Why not?"

"It reminds me too much of Titanic." Steve shook his head, flipping back.

"Lily."

"Ok, please stop trying to name our daughter after flowers," she told him, falling back onto the couch.

"All right, all right," he said, turning the page again. "Elizabeth, Lizzie for short."

"Lizzie and Lucy, are you joking?"

"It's cute."

"It's annoying," Alexia said. "And, it leaves out Julia."

"Uh huh," Steve said, letting out a deep breath as he continued to look. "Charlotte."

"That's my other grandmother," she pointed out.

"Ella."

"I don't know," she said hesitantly. "That's cute..."

"What's wrong with it?"

"It just doesn't feel like an Ella," she admitted.

"Ok, sixteen hours ago it didn't even feel like a girl to you," he pointed out.

"Steve, I'm sorry I'm being so crazy," she apologized, seeming like she was getting upset.

"Hey, it's ok," he said quickly, not wanting to upset her. "We'll stay up and figure it out, all right?" She nodded. "Here, what about..." He turned a few pages. "Haylee."

"How is it spelled?"

"Does that really matter?" he asked; she gave him a look. "Ok. There's H-A-Y-L-E-E, H-A-Y-L-E-Y, and H-A-L-E-Y."

"Ok, if we pick that name," she said. "It has to be the first spelling."

"Haylee's a maybe," he said, folding the corner of the page. "Ok...how about..."

"Ooo," she said, thinking of a name. "What about Taylor?"

"No," Steve shook his head.

"Why not?"

"Because it can be a boys name too," he told her. "And I don't like that."

"That's ridiculous," she said back, propping herself up a little.

"Ok, you shot down Rose because it's a character's name in a movie," he reminded her.

"Point taken," Alexia said, laying back down. "Do you want to just go to bed?"

"No, I'm too into this now," he said, flipping back to the beginning of the girls' section. "What about...Aria."

"Oh, I like that," she said. "That's pretty."

"So another maybe," he said, folding the page. "Why didn't we have this much trouble with the girls before?"

"Because we didn't knock out the grandmother names yet," she said, remembering Julia. "And we named Lucy after Nate's mom." Alexia thought about it. "What's your mom's middle name?"

"Why her middle name?" he asked curiously.

"Well, we've never done the _naming the girls after our moms_ thing," she said. "And Megan is obviously no where near being on the table. And..." She hesitated. "I'm sorry baby, but I really don't want to name our daughter Doris."

"Fair enough," Steve agreed, flipping through the book still. "But, it's Elizabeth and you already vetoed that." He stopped on a page. "Alexandra."

"That's too close to my name." He flipped through randomly.

"Stephanie."

"That's like a girl name for Steve."

"Kristen," he said, not stopping anymore to argue with her on her reasons. "Krissy for short."

"Mmmm...maybe." She sat up and took the book from him. "Steve, we have three maybes. Let's just pick from those."

"All right," he said, turning to her a little. "I'm just going to list off all the names and you tell me which one sounds right."

"Babe, if you like one over the other-"

"I picked them out of the book," he reasoned with her. "I like them all the same." He also didn't want to point out that Alexia was being much pickier than he was. "Ready?"

"Yeah," she nodded.

"Julia, Lucy, and Aria," he listed first.

"Eh," she shrugged. "Aria's pretty, but it doesn't flow right."

"Ok," he nodded. "Julia, Lucy, and Haylee."

"Mmmm..."

"Julia, Lucy, and Krissy," he said.

"There!" Alexia said. "That's it."

"All right," Steve smiled. "Jack for a boy and Krissy for a girl." He got up from the couch, then took Alexia's hand to help her up. "Time for bed."

"Wait," she said, resisting him as he tried to pull her up. "We don't have middle names for either." He let go of her hand.

"I can't," he shook his head. "No, not tonight." She bit her lip.

"And I'm kinda having second thoughts on Aria," she admitted.

"Babe," he complained.

"It's just so pretty."

"Bed," he told her finally, picking her up. "No more baby names tonight."

"Ooo," she said as he carried her over his shoulder up the stairs. "What about Danielle, we could call her Dani."

"Danny is a boys name," he told her. "And my partner's name. And we're not having this conversation anymore."

"Steve," she laughed. "Ok, ok. But tomorrow-"

"I will be all yours to go over every name in that book," he assured her.

"All right," she smiled. "Love you."

"I love you too," he said back.

**thanks for reading as always! please let me know what you thought :) **


	15. Wedding Bells and Baby Showers

**thanks so much for the reviews/follows/favorites! :) glad to know that you all liked the update! i really enjoy writing that kind of fluffy family chapter so there will be plenty more in the future lol enjoy this update!**

_Wedding Bells and Baby Showers_

Several weeks went by and everything with the pregnancy was going well. Alexia and the baby were both healthy and, later that week, they were going to find out the baby's gender. She was showing now, enough that she gave up wearing anything but sundresses as they were the only thing she felt comfortable in.

That Saturday afternoon, Malia and Kono were over at the McGarrett home. Malia and Chin's wedding was exactly one week away and the women were putting together the centerpieces for the reception. Steve wasn't home at the moment, driving the girls between various practices and play dates.

"So are you excited to find out what the baby is?" Kono asked Alexia as they all sat around the kitchen table.

"Definitely," Alexia nodded.

"Then maybe you'll put down the baby name book," Malia teased her, having seen Alexia bring it on their last few lunches together.

Though she was happy with the name for a boy, Johnathan Mark with Jack being for short, she still wasn't set on a girl name. She was so conflicted that she had backed out of the bet with Steve and the rest of Five-0 because with each day she changed her guess on what the baby would be. And with each time she thought it was a girl, she changed the name as well. First it was Aria Quinn, then it was Haylee Danielle, then it was Kristen Marie. Steve had stopped trying to keep up with what name she was picking, waiting until after they found out what the baby would be officially.

"I thought you settled on Haylee?" Kono asked, a little confused.

"She changes her mind daily," they heard Steve saying as he came into the house, carrying a take out bag. "Hi girls."

"Hi Steve."

"Hey."

"Hey babe," Alexia said as he stopped at her chair to kiss her. Smelling the food he brought, she grimaced. "What is that?"

"Chinese food," Steve offered. "I brought home lunch." She got up from her seat quickly, moving past him to make her way upstairs to the bathroom. From downstairs they could hear her throwing up.

"And we can now add Chinese food to the _foods that make her sick_ list," Steve said, setting the take out on the back deck so that it wasn't even in the house anymore. He would have to get it later when he took out the garbage. Everyday he was learning something new about pregnancy. Not only did she crave strange foods, but foods she used to love now made her sick.

"Well, I guess now is as good a time as any to talk to you about the baby shower," Malia said, taking advantage of the fact that Alexia was still upstairs. Malia and Kono were secretly planning a baby shower for Alexia that they would throw at the McGarrett home.

"Right," Steve nodded, sitting where Alexia had been. "Well, we're finding out this week what the baby is."

"So we can send either pink or blue invites," Malia finished for him. She knew that it would be good to let people know the baby's gender, especially if they were having a boy because they were going to need all new baby clothes in that case.

"I wanted to wait to have it when Emily gets here," Steve went on. "She's supposed to call me later with her official arrival date."

"Who's Emily?" Kono asked curiously.

"One of Lex's roommates from Maryland," Steve explained. "Her brother owns a hotel chain or something and he's opening one in Hawaii, which she's going to run."

"Oh wow that's great," Kono said. "And Lex has no idea?" Steve shook his head.

"Emily wanted to surprise her," he went on. "And, with the baby shower, we figured that would be the perfect time to do it." Hearing Alexia coming back down the stairs they stopped talking about Emily and the baby shower. "Are you feeling all right Lex?"

"I'm ok," she promised, her hand on her stomach. "Great actually, the baby started kicking."

"Oh no way," Steve said, going over to her. She took his hand and placed it where hers had been. "Oh wow babe, that's crazy." The baby kicked hard.

"Ah, yeah, that's our football player," Alexia laughed. "Definitely a boy this time."

"Again, you thought Julia was going to be a boy," Steve reminded her.

Just then, his phone started ringing. He groaned, knowing that it was going to be work. Once he answered, him and Kono both left the house while Alexia and Malia stayed to finish the center pieces. As they were working on the case, Steve got two phone calls. One was from Emily, letting him know that she would be there in two weeks. The other was from Joe, letting Steve know that he was going to be leaving Hawaii. He didn't explain why, but Steve was sure it had something to do with Shellburne. He wanted to investigate where Joe was going, maybe even go with him, but with the pregnancy he knew it wasn't the time.

* * *

Later on that week, Steve and Alexia had their doctor's appointment to find out the gender of the baby. They were both really excited to find out, waiting in the room anxiously for the doctor to come in with the news. After the appointment, Steve and Alexia both had to get back to work. Though he would have been happy either way, Steve was thrilled with this news as he came into the office. The others were waiting for him to say, knowing this news was coming out today.

"Well?" Danny asked as Steve came over to them, beaming. Rather than answer right away, Steve took out his ten dollar bet and handed it to Chin.

"Yeah?" Chin asked, smiling; Steve smiled back.

"It's a boy," he grinned.

"Jack McGarrett officially," Kono said. "Congrats!"

"Oh no," Danny groaned.

"Oh no?" Steve laughed. "What oh no?"

"What oh no?" Danny repeated. "One of you is enough. This kid is going to grow up to be some crazy super SEAL ninja, then he's going to have a partner who's going to get shot at all the time. And I empathize with that future partner, I really do." Steve laughed. "No, but really congrats man. I'm happy for you."

"Same," Chin said. "Congrats Steve!"

"Thanks you guys," Steve told them. He was truly happy with everything that was going on. The baby was due in a few months at the end of the summer. Lucy, who had recently turned five, would be starting school then. The girls were really growing up and they had another baby on the way. Everything was how it should be, except for the constant nagging thought of Shellburne.

* * *

A few nights later was Chin and Malia's wedding. It was a small ceremony on the beach, followed by a reception in the same area. The tables for dinner were set up on the outdoor deck of a hotel while the party was down on the beach. There were torches set up, lighting a circle around the sand where everyone had kicked off their shoes and started dancing. They had just started playing a slow song and everyone coupled up. Steve and Alexia were close, gently swaying to the music. He had one hand on her lower back and she had a hand on his shoulder, their other hands interlaced.

"Oh my God, look," Alexia said, nodding her head over. Steve turned them both so he could look. Julia was awkwardly slow dancing with a boy her age. She had her arms stiffly on his shoulders and he had his on her waist. Her and Lucy had been flower girls, both of them wearing pretty orange sundresses that were similar to the bridesmaid dresses. The bridesmaids dresses had been strapless though and the girls' dresses had thin straps.

"That's adorable," Alexia pointed out.

"Who's that kid?" Steve asked unhappily.

"Steve, she's eight," Alexia laughed. "And that's Malia's nephew, Joey. They go to the same school."

"I don't like him," Steve shook his head.

"He's _eight_," Alexia repeated.

"And she's my baby," Steve told her.

"Wow, then you really don't want to see what Lucy's doing right now," Alexia said, peeking over his shoulder.

"What?" Steve asked, whipping his head around.

"I'm kididng!" Alexia laughed as he turned back to her. "Babe, relax." She smiled. "Save it for when she's sixteen and her homecoming date is picking her up." She nodded down at her stomach. "This one will be eight and can kick him in the shins or something."

"I love it," Steve smiled, kissing her once. He hadn't thought about this, but he was happy that the girls were going to have a brother around once they all got older.

* * *

A few weeks later was Alexia's baby shower. Her friends from work were there, including Malia, and Kono was there as well. Julia and Lucy were there, opening the baby gifts her friends had brought her. Julia got to invite Grace, who with the help of Danny picked out a plush football for the baby. They now had plenty of boy baby clothes and toys that they weren't going to have to worry for awhile.

Steve had left the house when the party started and Alexia figured it was because, though he was normally outnumbered by women in the house, he was now outnumbered ten times that much. She didn't know, however, that he was on his way to the airport to pick up the last surprise. The party ended before he got back, leaving her and the three little girls at the house.

"Hey babe," she said, not turning her head when she heard the door open. "I wasn't expecting you yet."

"That's the point of a surprise _babe_," she heard Emily's voice saying.

"Oh my God!" Alexia squealed. She didn't move from the couch. "Come here, I can't get up fast enough to hug you."

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Emily laughed, sitting next to Alexia on the couch to hug her. Steve was smiling in the doorway, glad to see his wife so happy.

"What are you doing here?" Alexia asked at they pulled apart.

"Derek is opening a hotel in Waikiki," she explained. "And he wants me to run it!"

"That's so great!" Alexia told her. "Congrats Em."

"Thanks," Emily smiled. "And you too!" She observed all the blue baby clothes. "I see Steve is finally going to get his little quarterback."

"Or a running back, we're not picky," Steve said, passing by the couch to kiss Alexia. "Glad you're here Em."

"Me too!" she grinned. "Ah, this is so great! I already love it here." Just then, there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," Steve said as he heard the knock; Danny came in. "Oh, hey man. The girls are in the back if you want me to go get Grace."

"Actually, I was hoping you wouldn't mind watching her a little longer Lex," Danny said, looking over to her. "Stan and Rachel are out of town and we just caught another case."

"Sure, no problem," Alexia nodded. "And, thanks for the baby shower gift."

"Of course," he told her. He wasn't really looking at her though, he was looking at Emily who didn't notice. Alexia noticed though and she smiled. Danny was still single and Emily had gotten so busy with her career that she never really ended up settling down. She felt that this was the perfect idea.

"Danny, this is my friend from college Emily," Alexia said, getting Emily to look over. "Emily, this is Steve's partner Danny."

"Hi," Emily said, getting up to shake his hand.

"Nice to meet you," Danny smiled at her. Everything was quiet for a minute as they continued to smile at each other. Steve looked to Alexia who had to bite her lip; Steve shook his head a little, though he smiled too.

"So, the case Danno?" Steve interrupted.

"Right, the case," Danny said, nodding at the door. "We should go."

"See you later," Emily and Alexia said as they left. Emily smiled as she turned back to Alexia. "I think I love it here even more now."

"And I love that you love it!" Alexia laughed.

* * *

The next night, Alexia woke up to find that Steve wasn't with her anymore. She caught him down the hall in the spare room, where they had already started setting up the nursery. They had taken out the old bed and set up a crib. With all the new baby clothes, Alexia had folded them all and placed them in the dresser. They also set up Julia and Lucy's old changing table. When she walked into the room, she saw that he was painting the walls blue.

"Since we know now," he explained before she even asked.

"Couldn't sleep huh?" she asked, sitting in the rocking chair that was next to the crib.

"I figure it's good practice," he said lightly, placing the roller in the paint pan. "For when the baby gets here." She smiled a little.

"I know Joe's gone," she told him; he didn't say anything. "And, I know that whatever keeps you up at night has to do with him." They were quiet for a moment. "You should go."

"No," he shook his head. "Not with you and the baby-"

"I think you'll make it back in four months," she stopped him. "Me and the girls will be fine. Plus, Emily's here now and Malia was always good about helping out." She got up to go over to him. "Everything will be ok." She shrugged. "Maybe it will even get better once you figure out what's going on."

"I don't know," he hesitated.

"What if I gave you a deadline?" she offered. "Two weeks."

"Babe-"

"And it won't be like before," she continued insisting. "Because we can talk whenever." She took his hand. "We'll really be fine."

Steve finally agreed, planning to leave right away. Though he hadn't been planning to leave originally, he had been working on tracking Joe and had found that he had gone to Japan. Without much time to explain, he wrote out a letter for Danny and left it with Alexia. Before leaving in the early hours of the morning, he woke up the girls to say goodbye and promised he would be back soon. He assured them that it wasn't like before and that he knew when he would be back. The next morning, Danny came over as usual to grab Steve for work. He was met at the door by Alexia, who handed him a letter.

_Hey partner,_

_It's a long story, but I need to find Joe. He knows more than he lets on about Shellburne and I need to find out all I can. I have to do this to keep my family safe. I'll be back before you know it. Keep an eye on my girls for me._

_Steve_

"He just left?" Danny asked, seeming annoyed.

"You know this thing with Joe is eating him alive," Alexia reasoned.

"You seem to be taking this well," Danny observed. "What did your letter say?"

"I didn't get a letter," Alexia said in confusion. "We talked about it last night, I kind of convinced him to go."

"What?" Danny asked.

"Well, I just thought that he should-"

"No, no," Danny shook his head. "Not that. He actually explains himself to you, but he just up and leaves me."

"Ok, Danny," Alexia laughed. "Steve and I are actually married." She smiled a little. "You're just the one on the side."

"Funny," Danny said sarcastically.

"Would it make you feel better if I told you about my friend Emily and how cute she thinks you are?" Alexia grinned.

"No," Danny said stubbornly, still annoyed with Steve; he thought for a moment. "So, did she actually say cute or..."

**thanks for reading as always and please let me know what you thought! and for anyone that was curious it was 21 votes for boy and 15 for girl lol hope you liked this update! :)**


	16. Stress

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_Stress_

Steve was gone for two weeks, but he still wasn't home yet. He had called to say he wouldn't be home for awhile, so Alexia knew that he was safe for now. What he didn't explain was what he was doing, but she trusted him. The girls were nervous without their dad home, so they were sleeping with her on his side of the bed in their parents' room.

Steve was gone for an extra week, but he called the second he landed in Hawaii with an explanation. While in Japan he had been able to locate Wo Fat. After making an arrest, they brought him back to the island to take him to prison. Feeling safer now as Wo Fat sat in prison, Steve returned home to his girls.

"Daddy!" Lucy and Julia called, running down the front walk as he came up to the house to meet him.

"Hey!" he laughed, kneeling down to hug them both. "I missed you girls." He kissed their heads as they told him they missed him too. "Were you good for your mom?"

"Yes."

"Extra good!"

"Good," Steve laughed, standing up. Julia let go but Lucy hung onto his leg as he walked up to the house. He found Alexia in the doorway of the house, watching him and the girls come up. "Hey babe."

"Hi," she smiled, kissing him. "I'm so glad you're home."

"Me too," he agreed. As he was telling her this, his phone started ringing for work. "Oh you've gotta be kidding me," he groaned, answering it. "Hello?"

It was Danny, calling to let him know they had another case. This wasn't just any case though, an officer that they knew had been shot and killed. Steve left right away to investigate with his team. Alexia was off to work, leaving the girls with Emily for the day. She was in the clinic finishing up with a patient when one of the ER doctors came running in.

"We're going to need you in the casting room," Doctor Miller was telling her, knowing that she couldn't really be around blood without getting sick. With all the people running around in the ER too it wasn't exactly the best place for someone who was five months pregnant. Rather than getting run into or knocked over it was better for her to be out of the way in an extra room.

"What's going on?"

"There was an explosion down at HPD," he explained. "Injuries are extensive, there's going to be people in and out of here all day."

"But-" Alexia said, going to stop him. He turned back to her, knowing what she was going to ask.

"Your husband is fine," he assured her. "Malia's is on his way in with minor injuries, the others are fine."

"You could have opened with that," Alexia muttered, changing rooms she was in.

All afternoon, she was busy placing casts on various police officers from the HPD building. Eventually, Steve stopped in to the emergency room to explain what happened to her. He also explained that Joe was there and that he was willing to take him to Shellburne now that Wo Fat was in jail. Alexia felt like her head was spinning, but she was glad to know that he was all right. Not only was he all right, but he was going to get the answers he needed. She knew that she was going to be working later than usual, so she called up Emily to make sure it was ok that she stayed with the girls.

Alexia made it home a little later than normal, but not too late. With Steve back out of town, Emily said that she would stay with them. Exhausted, Alexia fell asleep quickly in her room, the girls with her again. She didn't even hear the house phone go off, but Emily did and she answered. Hearing the news, she woke up Alexia immediately. Earlier that night, someone had broken into Malia and Chin's house; Malia had been shot and was currently at the hospital in the ICU.

With Steve gone and Malia in the hospital, Alexia was feeling extra stressed. Knowing that it couldn't be good for the baby, Emily insisted that Alexia stay home from work and rest. She stayed at the house with her, helping out with the girls. Emily was watching a movie with them when Steve got home the next night with an older woman that Emily had never seen before.

"Daddy!" they cheered when he got home, running over to them.

"Hi girls," he said as he knelt down to hug them, kissing each of their heads.

"Who's she?" Lucy asked, looking at the woman.

"Um," Steve hesitated, still kneeling with his girls. "Sweetheart, this is my mom." Both girls eyes went wide, having thought through all their lives that their grandmother had passed away; after all that was the story they always got from their parents and their grandfather.

"AHHH!" the girls both screamed, running up the stairs like they had just seen a ghost.

"So, those are your granddaughters," Steve said lightly as he stood back up.

"Julia and Lucy," Doris recalled from what Steve told her on the flight there; he nodded.

"This is Lex's friend Emily," Steve said. "And, thanks for helping out Em."

"Sure," Emily nodded, not sure of what she just witnessed. "I'll let myself out, tell Lex I said good night." Steve nodded as Emily left the house. He turned, hearing Alexia coming down the stairs.

"What's with all the screaming?" she asked him as she got to the bottom. Doris then turned to look at her and Alexia's mouth dropped open, unable to speak.

"Oh my God," Doris smiled at the sight of her, five months pregnant. "Honey, look at you." She had been thrilled when Steve told her that he had married Alexia, having adored her when they had first started dating in high school. She was even more excited that she was pregnant with her third grandchild.

"Yeah, look at me," she said skeptically, looking to Steve. "_I'm_ the surprise."

"I know it's a lot to take in," Doris told her. "But, if you just let me explain-"

"Please do," Alexia said back, taking a seat. Doris might be excited to see her, but Alexia was a little less than thrilled. After all, Doris didn't have to be there when John, Steve, and Mary all thought she was dead, but she did.

* * *

_Flashback, 1993_

It had been a week since the accident that had killed Steve's mother. Alexia had insisted that Steve not come back to school yet, but he kept telling her that was what he wanted. Being in his house was too hard right now. She waited outside her building that morning for him to pick her up for school. Once he was there, they road silently on their way to the high school. The street the accident had been on was on their usual route.

"Maybe you should turn here," she suggested.

"It's fine Lex," he told her, putting on a front as he continued down the street. When they got to the corner where the accident had been though, she turned and could see silent tears rolling down his face.

"Go up here and turn," she said softly.

He took the instructed detour, eventually figuring out where she meant to go. They went up to the overlook where he had taken her on their first date. She got out of the car first and he took a minute, wiping at his eyes. Being seventeen years old, he didn't want to cry in front of his girlfriend. She opened the door and he eventually got out. Seeing the sympathetic look on her face, the tears started welling back up.

"Come here," she told him, wrapping her arms around his middle to hug him. He hugged her tight, crying into her hair; this was the only time Alexia had seen him cry in their time together. "I'm so sorry baby."

* * *

"You faked your own death?" Alexia asked with raised eye brows. Doris had just finished explaining why she had faked the car accident, that she had been running from Wo Fat and hiding ever since to keep her family safe. After he had been taken to jail, it was safe for her to come out of hiding.

"I know I have a lot of making up to do," Doris assured her. "But, I want to come home. I want my family back." She smiled. "I want to be Grandma Doris." She studied Alexia's face. "I understand what you're thinking, about me. Trust me, I know what it's like to be a mom and want to protect your kids."

"Um," Alexia said, running a hand through her hair. "I think I need to go lay down for now."

"Of course," Doris nodded, though Alexia wasn't looking for her approval.

"I'll be up soon," Steve promised as Alexia went up the stairs. She stopped half way up and looked to him.

"If you ever fake your death and leave me with three kids, I'll murder you," she told him, before going up the stairs to their room.

"Hormones," Steve said to Doris once Alexia was gone; Doris gave a half smile. "Are you sure you're going to be ok down here?" There weren't any rooms left in the McGarrett house, with the guest room being turned into the nursery. Doris was going to be sleeping on the couch until she found a place of her own to stay.

"I'll be fine," she told him, smiling again. "I'll wake up in the morning and get to meet my granddaughters."

* * *

The next morning was Saturday. The girls would have been off school regardless, but it was now summer vacation. Alexia came downstairs with them, with Steve already being awake and making breakfast. Alexia left for work, promising an update on Malia as soon as she got one. She left before the food was ready, leaving the girls eyeing Doris suspiciously at the breakfast table.

"So," Doris said, breaking the silence as Steve stood at the stove, making eggs. "You're Julia, and you're Lucy?" Julia nodded, pushing up her glasses.

"What do we call you?" Julia asked her. "We've never had a grandma before." The only grandparent the girls had ever been around was John, who they both loved. Alexia's father had, of course, passed away and she never let her mother around the girls. Up until now, they all thought Doris had passed away too.

"Just a grandpa," Lucy nodded in agreement with her sister. "But, he died."

"Lucy," Steve warned, scooping eggs onto her plate for her, then giving Julia some. She gave him a puppy eyed apology look and he smiled at her, letting her know he wasn't really mad.

"I'm sorry about your grandpa," Doris told them, pouring the juice Steve had set on the table for them. "And, grandma is fine."

"Did you tell Grandma about baby Jack?" Lucy asked Steve as he sat down with them. Lucy was obsessed with the new baby and couldn't wait for her baby brother to get there. Julia was excited too, of course, but not to the same degree as her younger sister.

"You're having a boy?" Doris asked as Lucy finished. He had told her Alexia was pregnant, but he hadn't told her many details about it.

"Yeah," Steve nodded. "We're calling him Jack, a nickname for John."

"I like that," Doris smiled. Steve smiled back as they all started on their breakfast. It was strange to have his mom back but at the same time it was really nice. It was good to see the girls with one of their grandparents.

"Hey dad," Julia said, sipping her juice. "Me and Lucy have a question."

"What is it sweetheart?" Steve asked, taking a bite of his food.

"Where do babies come from?" Lucy asked innocently. Steve started choking on his food. Doris bit her lip to keep from laughing as Steve spit his food into his napkin.

"Um," he hesitated under their expecting eyes. Doris seemed to be waiting patiently for his answer as well, an amused look on her face. "You know what girls? That would be a really good question for doctor mommy." They nodded. "Why don't you go change? We'll go out back and swim."

"Ok!" the girls nodded, hopping up from the table to go change into their swim suits. Steve shook his head, getting up to clear the table.

"You know she's going to kill you for that," Doris told Steve, referencing Alexia.

"Well, hopefully I'm not home when they ask," he said, laughing a little as he did the dishes.

Julia and Lucy came back down in their swim suits; Julia's was an orange one piece and Lucy's was a pink two piece with white ruffles. Doris came out, relaxing in the sun in her solid black one piece as she watched Steve splash in the water with his daughters. Doris was genuinely happy to be reunited with them, though there were still some things she needed to keep from her son.

"Hey," Doris heard Steve saying to someone behind her. It was Alexia, in her purple dress with short sleeves, the skirt blowing around her legs. "You're back early." Steve couldn't see, but Doris could see that Alexia's eyes were red like she had been crying.

"Hey girls!" Doris said, getting up from her seat and wading into the water. "What if I swam with you for a little?" Julia was swimming around on her own, while Lucy had been holding onto Steve; Doris took Lucy from him, nodding her head up at Alexia as a signal he needed to get up there. Steve got out of the water quickly, grabbing his towel as he walked up into the grass to talk to his wife.

"What's going on?" he asked worriedly as her eyes well back up with tears, unable to answer him. "Oh God, Malia?" She nodded as the tears spilled over and he pulled her into his chest. "Lex, I'm so sorry." He pulled back to wipe off her tears with his thumbs. "Let's go in, all right?" She followed him up to the house, leaving the girls with Doris.

Steve took Alexia up to their room, laying with her on the bed. With the windows open, they could hear the girls giggling outside as they continued to swim with Doris. He stroked her hair with one hand as she sobbed against his shoulder; Malia had been her best friend on the island for years. Knowing all the stress she had been going through couldn't be good for the baby, he rested his other hand instinctively on her stomach. Feeling Jack kick, he felt a little better. He was still worried though, knowing that he was a part of her stress; he also couldn't imagine what it would be like for her to go into work without Malia there. She had seemed to stop crying, relaxing into him.

"Hey baby," he murmured into her hair, kissing her head. "Can we talk about something?"

"What kind of something?" she asked, tilting her head up from his shoulder.

"Maybe you taking some time off?" he offered.

"I have maternity leave after I have Jack," she told him.

"Doesn't help with the things going on right now," he said gently, knowing how much she loved her job. "For me, and my sanity?" He moved his hand along her stomach. "It can't be good for the baby."

"Mmm, your first time pregnancy nerves," she recalled, smiling a little. "Can I think about it?"

"Fair enough," he agreed, kissing her softly. "I love you so much Lex."

"I love you too," she said back, resting her head against his shoulder again.

**thanks for reading! please let me know your thoughts :)**


	17. The Mother In Law

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_The Mother In Law_

Steve wasn't sleeping much again these days. After Malia's funeral, all he could think about was Alexia and the girls, how awful it would be to lose them and how he couldn't even begin to imagine what Chin was feeling. That morning, Danny had picked him up on the way to work. They both hoped that Chin wouldn't be in today, knowing he needed time alone. Neither of them brought up their current case of trying to track down Frank Delano, the man responsible for Malia's murder; they were waiting till they got to HQ for that.

"So," Danny said, breaking the silence. "How is it having Doris back?"

"So far so good," Steve shrugged. "She's really trying with the girls." Danny nodded.

"Have her and Alexia tried to kill each other yet?" Danny asked, smirking a little as he looked at his partner; Steve seemed confused.

"What do you mean?"

"Babe, no woman gets along with her mother in law," Danny informed him. "Especially not at first."

"My mom got along fine with my dad's mom," Steve explained.

"No, she didn't," Danny disagreed. "Just like Rachel never got along with my mom. And how Lex and Doris aren't going to get along either."

"Danny, my house isn't a sitcom," Steve argued. "Doris isn't going to go cleaning the house when Lex isn't looking or criticizing her cooking."

"All right," Danny shrugged, giving in. "But you'll see."

* * *

Alexia got up that morning, having agreed with Steve to take time off of work. She got the girls up, getting them ready for their week long day camp. Julia had gone every year and Lucy was excited that she was old enough to go now too. Once she dropped them off, she came back to the house where Doris had started to make chocolate chip pancakes for her. It reminded her of how John used to make her breakfast when she was pregnant and Steve was away.

"Hey honey," Doris smiled as she came in and took a seat. "Are the girls excited for art camp?"

"Uh huh," Alexia nodded, eyeing her skeptically. "You really don't have to do all of this."

"Well, I just want to help out," Doris told her, handing her a plate of food. "Steve's so busy and you're expecting-"

"I've done it on my own before," Alexia explained, though she would never say that to Steve. She still wasn't happy about the idea of Doris staying with them, especially after what she had put the McGarretts through with her faked death. Doris sat across the table from her, her eyes sympathetic.

"I know you have a lot going on," Doris said gently; Alexia avoided looking at her, focusing on her food. "And, I'm really sorry about your friend." She sighed. "I can't imagine what it must be like for Chin right now."

"Probably a lot what it was like for John," Alexia said back. "At least Chin doesn't have kids to explain it to." She looked to Doris who was raising her eye brows at her, probably having enough of the commentary. "Hormones," Alexia said with a fake smile.

"It's fine," Doris said back, starting on her own food. "You know, I'm so happy to be home. Catching up with some of my old friends, it's been nice."

"Good," Alexia shrugged. She felt almost childish being this way, but she didn't really care. There was something about Doris being back, something she didn't like. Her presence made Alexia uneasy and she wished that she would at least move out.

"I heard about the divorce," Doris continued. "Or, rather, the fake divorce." She took a sip of her juice. "That must have been confusing for the girls."

"Like you're one to give parenting advice," Alexia fired back; Doris didn't say anything back.

"I'd like to take the girls to the beach this weekend," Doris continued, taking the conversation away from the parenting subject.

"I'm pretty sure Steve is off," Alexia said. "See if he wants to go."

"No, I'd like to take them on my own," Doris corrected her. "Give you two some time on your by yourselves."

"That's not going to happen," Alexia told her bluntly, finishing her food.

"Why not?" Doris demanded.

"You had to fake your own death to keep your kids safe," Alexia told her, getting up and taking her plate over to the sink. "So, I'm sorry if leaving my kids alone with you doesn't seem like the best idea." They heard the front door open and shut, both of them getting quiet. Steve came into the house with Danny, both of them coming into the kitchen.

"Is everything ok?" Steve asked, immediately sensing tension in the room.

"Fine," Alexia smiled at him; Doris gave him a warm smile as well. "Did you forget something?"

"My phone," Steve explained, grabbing it from the counter and placing it in his pocket. He looked at the two women suspiciously. "Are you sure everything is all right?"

"Of course," Alexia nodded, kissing him once. "I'll see you this afternoon, for the doctor's?"

"Right, three?" Steve asked and he nodded.

"Oh, I can take her," Doris assured Steve, smiling at him. "I'm sure you have a lot going on with Chin's case and everything." She turned to Alexia. "Plus, that would give us a chance to catch up some more."

"That would be really helpful," Steve said, looking to Alexia to make sure it was ok. Feeling like she couldn't say no, Alexia only nodded in agreement. "Great, well I'll see you both for dinner." He kissed Alexia one more time. "Love you."

"You too," she told him as he left. Once they were out of the house, Danny started to laugh as they got into the car.

"What?" Steve asked.

"Did you miss that whole thing in there?" Danny asked him. "When you get back for dinner, only one of them is going to be left."

* * *

The rest of the day was tense between Doris and Alexia. They went to the doctor's office that afternoon, barely speaking. After they were let into an exam room, they had to wait awhile because Doctor Hooper was running late. Alexia sat on the propped table, leaning back against it. Doris sat in the chair next to it, leafing through a magazine.

"You really should relax," Doris encouraged her, turning the page. "It's not good for the baby."

"So, in addition to being a spy, you're also a doctor?" Alexia asked sarcastically.

"You need to quit it with the commentary Alexia," Doris told her seriously.

"I'm thirty five years old," Alexia snapped, hating that Doris had used her full name. "You can't tell me what to do." Not much else was audible between the two of them as they continued to argue, talking over each other. When the door opened, they stopped as they expected it to be the doctor. However, it was Danny and Steve again. This time, Steve had heard them arguing.

"What's going on in here?" Steve asked them.

"What are you two doing here?" Alexia asked, changing the subject.

"We need to get you both out of here," Steve told them. "Wo Fat escaped from prison." _Of course he did_, Alexia thought to herself but didn't say out loud. It never seemed like they could catch a break with Steve's work and the things that happened.

Steve took Alexia home and picked up the girls from camp, leaving Doris with Danny. He figured Alexia and the girls should be safe since Doris was Wo Fat's intended target. That didn't stop him from having a police presence at his house though as they continued to search for Wo Fat. They sent Doris to a safe house where Wo Fat eventually found her.

Steve showed up just in time as Wo Fat left the house after a confrontation with Doris. It was decided that Doris needed to be placed in protective custody, with leaving the country being her only choice. After taking his mother to the airport, Steve returned home and seemed upset. He found Alexia waiting up for him, the girls already being in bed.

"You should be upstairs," he said as he joined her on the couch. "It's late."

"We're fine," she told him, resting her hand on her stomach. He leaned in to kiss her, then kissed her stomach once, smiling at her a little. "I'm sorry, about your mom having to leave."

"It's really safer this way," he said, trying to brush it off; he looked her over once. "What was going on with you two?" Alexia sighed.

"I can't really explain it," she said, not sure how to word it. "I just...I get this uneasy feeling about having her here, about her being around the girls."

"She's my mom Lex," he said back.

"And I'm glad you get to have her back," Alexia assured him. "I mean, God, if I could have my dad back? I don't even know what I'd be like. But..."

"But what?" Steve asked curiously. He wasn't angry, he just wanted to know what Alexia thought about having his mother back. After recent events, she started to make him feel uneasy as well.

"Call it maternal instinct," Alexia went on. "Whatever it is, I just don't..." She hesitated before continuing. "I don't trust her."

"I don't know that I do either," Steve finally admitted.

"What happened?" Alexia asked him; Steve couldn't tell her that his mother had a chance to kill Wo Fat and didn't.

"Just same as you," Steve brushed her off. "Instincts and all." She nodded, taking his hand.

"I am sorry babe."

"Me too," he agreed.

* * *

Weeks passed and everything started to go back to normal. They still didn't know where Doris was, but it was safer that way. Wo Fat was still free, but he didn't seem interested in Steve's family, only his mother. With the months passing, everyone was adjusting to their new normal. With the summer coming to and end next month, Lucy was getting ready to start school for the first time and Julia would be in the fourth grade. Alexia was eight and a half months pregnant now, having a harder time getting around and Steve was getting more paranoid with her. Danny was spending even more time with Emily, having introduced her to Grace. Chin still wasn't sure how to be without Malia.

That weekend, Steve had plans to go out fishing with Danny. Alexia encouraged him to get out and have a guys day, especially with the baby coming soon. Everything around the house was in order, the nursery complete and waiting for Jack's arrival. The girls were both buzzing with the excitement as they waited for their baby brother to come along. Alexia was walking Steve out, wishing him a good time as she sent him off. When they opened the door, Danny was there like they expected. What they hadn't expected was to see Doris there.

"Mom?" Steve asked in shock. "What are you doing here?"

"I never left," Doris confessed. "I've been away from you for twenty years Steve. I've missed you, I miss the girls." She shook her head. "I won't leave again."

"Yeah, but mom you-"

"Why don't you just head out with Danny?" Alexia cut him off. "She's been on the island this long, a few more hours won't make a difference." Both Doris and Steve were surprised that Alexia was siding with Doris.

"Lex-"

"It'll be fine," she assured him. "And...I'd like to talk to your mom. Alone?"

"Ok," Steve gave in hesitantly. "Are you sure you're all right?" It wasn't like Alexia to just change like this and he had no idea what his mom was really doing back. He did trust Alexia though and what she wanted; whatever it was, he was willing to at least hear it out.

"Perfect," Alexia promised, kissing him once. "Have fun today."

Steve and Danny finally left, leaving the two women alone in the house with the girls playing outside. Doris looked at Alexia curiously as she went into the kitchen, making them both tea; since Alexia was pregnant, it had to be decaffeinated.

"So," Doris finally spoke up. "Why the sudden change?" Alexia was sipping her tea, setting her cup down as she contemplated how to answer.

"I know what it's like," Alexia explained to her. "Losing a parent like that, that young and that sudden." She sighed. "It sucks, to say the least. So, I can't even imagine what it would be like to get a chance to actually have them back." She shrugged. "As quickly as you showed up, you left again and it sucked all over again. Not only was Steve missing you, but the girls were too."

"I'm glad that you understand," Doris said sympathetically. "I just want to be around for Steve and the girls. And you." She smiled at her. "I love all of you."

"Well, we still need to have some ground rules," Alexia said firmly. "About you and the girls, things like that..." Alexia trailed off, feeling a pain in her stomach. She breathed through it before continuing. "Anyway, like I was saying, I still don't like having you alone with the girls. For now at least, it's just that..." She winced a little.

"Are you all right honey?" Doris asked in concern.

"I'm fine," Alexia breathed. "I just keep getting this weird pain."

"Every few minutes?" Doris asked, her tone implying it was obvious what was going on.

"Oh you've gotta be kidding me!" Alexia complained. It wasn't time, it was still early. In addition to that, Steve wasn't anywhere around, he was out in the middle of the ocean somewhere with Danny. Alexia didn't believe there was any way for this to be happening right now.

* * *

Sure enough, Alexia had gone into labor. Doris drove her and the girls over to the hospital, calling Emily and asking her to meet them there so she could pick up the girls and take them home; she didn't know how long this would be and this wasn't a good place for the girls to be. She called Kono and Chin at HQ to see if they had heard from Danny and Steve yet, but they hadn't. Between the three of them, none of them were able to reach him. Doris came back into Alexia's hospital room, tucking her phone into her back pocket; Alexia started having another contraction.

"Ok, honey, breathe," Doris coached, taking her hand as she sat next to her.

"Oh my God," Alexia breathed as the contraction stopped, turning her head to Doris. "Where's Steve?"

"Well," Doris hesitated, not sure how to tell her. "They're...not sure."

"He cannot miss this!" Alexia insisted. "He was so excited for this, especially after missing the girls. And I am _not_-"

"Ok," Doris said, trying to calm her. "It's ok, the doctor said it could be awhile right? There's plenty of time to track them down."

"Yeah?" Alexia asked hopefully.

"Yeah," Doris agreed.

**thanks for reading! guess who's coming along in the next update ;) hope you liked the chapter, please let me know what you thought! :)**


	18. What The Future Holds

**thanks as always for the reviews/follows/favorites! 202 reviews?! you're all the best! :) thanks so much for the support. i decided to do something a little different with this chapter, with flash forwards instead of flashbacks which i had a lot of fun writing! (thanks to LeilaniMolakai for letting me bounce ideas off of you!) hope you like this chapter! :)**

_What the Future Holds_

Steve and Danny were both enjoying their day out at sea. Though they hadn't caught anything yet, they were still having a good time sharing a beer and talking. It was nice to get away for a few hours from everything that was going on and just relax. Danny brought up Doris, but Steve immediately changed the subject; it was still a sensitive topic that Steve wasn't sure how to navigate yet. As they were talking, Danny's phone started ringing. It was Rachel, calling to fight with him about their latest custody battle.

"Rachel still wants to take Grace to Las Vegas?" Steve asked after Danny hung up; Danny nodded.

"Not that I'm going to let her," Danny told him. "I mean, I'm sure Grace will leave the island eventually but-"

"What do you mean?" Steve asked curiously.

"I'm just saying, the world's a lot bigger than this island," Danny reasoned, sipping his beer. "Grace could go to college off the island, get a job some place on a mainland." He shrugged. "Haven't you ever thought about that stuff before?"

"Not really," Steve shrugged. "Everyone I grew up with stayed here." He brushed it off. "Besides, they're five and eight."

"Yeah, I guess," Danny agreed, though he could tell what he had said had really gotten to his partner. Steve hadn't thought too much about his daughters when they were older, he was just enjoying them now. But, Danny was right. Eventually they would grow up and go to school, move out, and get married. Once he started thinking about it, he couldn't stop.

* * *

_2025_

Steve was waiting for Julia to get home that afternoon. Jack was upstairs in his room doing his homework as he was in his last week of his freshman year of high school. Lucy, at nineteen years old, had just finished her first year at USC as a journalism major. Julia was the only one left to come home. She was twenty two now and had just graduated from the University of Hawaii.

"JACK!" Lucy shouted upstairs. "Give 'em back!"

"Quit bothering your sister Jack," Alexia said in a monotone, leafing through a magazine on the couch. With all the kids home now, this was typical behavior. With Jack being only fourteen, he still enjoyed tormenting his older sisters. Alexia looked up at Steve who wouldn't stop pacing. "And would you sit down and relax already?"

"Mom," Lucy came down the steps before Steve could respond. Her light brown hair was pulled back in a tight pony tail as she was dressed in her clothes to go running, her crystal blue eyes conveying annoyance. "Jack stole my headphones."

"Jack!" Steve called up the stairs. Whenever their dad yelled, they knew it was serious. "Quit messing with your sister and finish your homework!" As he finished yelling, Lucy caught her head phones as Jack tossed them down the steps to her.

"Thanks daddy," she said, plugging them into her phone and coming the rest of the way down the stairs. "What's bugging you?"

"Your sister is on the way home with _news_," Alexia said, setting her magazine on the table. "And he's freaking out about it."

"What news could she possibly have?" Steve said, repeating what he had said earlier. "She's twenty-two, she just finished school. What other news could she have, other than she's moving away?"

"Maybe Nick got her pregnant," Lucy shrugged nonchalantly, referencing Julia's boyfriend that Steve wasn't the craziest about. It wasn't that Nick was a bad guy, Steve didn't like anyone that was dating his daughters. Lucy looked up from her phone, seeing that she had fallen under her father's stern stare. "I'm...gonna go running now," she said, turning to leave the house.

"Honey," Alexia said to Steve as Lucy left; he was pacing more now. "I'm sure Julia's not pregnant."

"How do you know that?"

"Because she's coming over _with_ Nick," Alexia reminded him. "He's a good kid, but I doubt anyone's ballsy enough to face you after knocking up one of your daughters."

"Please don't say it like that," Steve begged her; he looked like he was going to be sick.

"Steve, babe, just come sit and-"

"Hi mom!" Julia said, coming into the house with a huge grin on her face. Her hair was long, full of loose curls; she had traded in her glasses for contacts, her blue green eyes matching her father's. Nick wasn't far behind Julia, carrying her bag into the house for her. He was tall, built similarly to Steve though he had blond hair and bright green eyes. He wasn't from Hawaii, he had been raised in Texas. Nick and Julia had met in class, both of them majoring in architecture.

"Hey sweetheart," Alexia smiled, getting up to hug and kiss her oldest daughter. She released her, greeting Nick as well. Julia bounced over to hug her dad.

"Hi dad," she said as she hugged him, with him hugging her around her waist and picking her up for a moment.

"Hi Jules," he smiled at her as he let her go; he only nodded at her boyfriend. "Nick."

"Good to see you sir," Nick said to him. Nick and various boys Lucy would bring home all seemed to be afraid of Steve, which he was perfectly content with.

"So," Alexia jumped in, going over to stand next to Steve. "Can you please just tell us what your news is?" She smiled at Steve. "Before your father's head explodes."

"Well, you would have noticed soon anyway," Julia grinned, holding up her left hand; there was a diamond engagement ring on her finger. "Nick asked me last night while we were packing up my apartment! Isn't this great?!" Both of her parents were shocked. Steve crossed his arms over his chest, eyeing Nick unhappily.

"Oh my dad's gonna kill you," Jack laughed at Nick from the stairs.

"Upstairs Johnathan," Alexia scolded and Jack ran back up to his room before she turned back to Julia. "Honey, it is great." She elbowed Steve. "Right, Steve?"

"She's too young to get married," Steve said back.

"She's standing right here," Julia said, a bit annoyed. "And I'm twenty two."

"Sir-"

"You didn't even ask," Steve stopped Nick.

"It's not 1900!" Julia said to her dad. The door opened and Lucy came back from her run, catching her breath still as she came back inside.

"Hey Julesy, Nick," Lucy greeted them, taking her headphones out; she felt immediate tension in the room. "What's going on?" She looked at her parents. "Why does dad have aneurysm face?"

* * *

_Present Day_

Alexia was laying in her hospital bed, each contraction feeling more painful than the last. Though she had gone into labor, she wasn't any where close to being ready to deliver. That was good in the sense that they had plenty of time to find Steve and get him to the hospital. Doris had currently excused herself to try calling again to see where Steve was. What she found out was that their boat returned but they weren't in it. Kono and Chin were doing what they could to track them down, but they urged her not to tell Alexia what was going on.

"Well?" Alexia asked when Doris came back.

"Ah," Doris hesitated, taking her seat. "They're not back yet, we're figuring they just have bad cell service out there-" She stopped when Alexia started having another contraction, taking her hand and coaching her through it.

"Oh my God," Alexia gasped once it was over. "Where is my husband?"

* * *

"I'm never going fishing with you again," Danny told Steve as they had just been picked up by the Coast Guard, sitting on the boat in handcuffs. It had been a long afternoon. First, their boat got hijacked and they were stranded at sea. Then they had found the boat the hijacker had fled, which turned out to be a crime scene. Once the Coast Guard got there, they were arrested because they were unable to identify themselves as Five-0.

"Would you just relax?" Steve insisted. As he was saying this, the Captain came out.

"We're sorry for the misunderstanding," he told them, removing the handcuffs. "A member of your team just verified your credentials." They both nodded, Steve a bit understanding but Danny was clearly annoyed.

"Once we get back, I'd like to investigate this with my team," Steve explained to him; he nodded.

"I actually have instructions to get you to the hospital as soon as possible Commander," he said to him.

"The hospital?" Steve asked curiously. "Is everything all right?"

"It seems your wife's gone into labor," he explained; Steve was shocked.

"Hey, you hear that buddy," Danny congratulated him, patting his shoulder. "Your boy's on his way."

Once they got back, Steve and Danny drove to the hospital, not stopping anywhere on the way. Danny dropped him off by the door, saying that he would go find Chin and Kono to continue the case. He wished Steve luck before driving off. Steve hurried inside, going to the appropriate floor to find his wife. She was still in her room with Doris, both of them shocked when he came in.

"What happened?" Alexia asked as he came over to her bed.

"Don't worry about it," Steve told her, leaning over to kiss her.

"Don't worry about it?" she repeated, feeling his shirt. "Your clothes are wet, your face is covered in grease." She winced as another contraction started, with Steve giving her his hand so she could squeeze it. "Are you not wearing any shoes?" she asked, still grimacing in pain.

"One thing at a time babe," he told her, stroking her hair with his free hand.

Doris left the hospital, going back to the house to stay with the girls so Emily could go home. Steve took her seat next to the bed, giving Alexia his hand each time she had another contraction. He was surprised that someone so small could have such a bone crushing grip; but, then again, he had never been there when she had either of the girls. The doctor came in to check on her, letting them know that it could still be a few hours. In between contractions, he explained to her where he had been all day.

"Oh my God," Alexia said as he finished the story. "You almost got eaten by a shark?"

"I didn't almost get eaten," Steve corrected her. "It just...swam next to me."

"Ugh, our kids are never going in the ocean again."

"We live on an island baby," Steve reminded her. "That's a little hard."

"What else is bugging you?" Alexia asked, looking him over.

"What? Nothing," Steve shook his head.

"Ah," she winced, squeezing his hand tight again. "Don't. Lie."

"Just breathe," he assured her, rubbing the back of her hand. "Breathe." He always knew it was over when he could feel the blood coming back into his hand.

"Spill," she instructed, turning her head to look at him.

"I don't know," Steve shrugged. "Danno was just talking about Grace growing up, leaving the island and stuff. It just got me thinking about our girls." He rested his hand on hers. "Do you ever think about that stuff?"

"All the time," Alexia nodded like it was obvious. "But, I don't look like I'm going to have a stroke over it."

"It doesn't freak you out?"

"Of course not," Alexia shook her head. "Prom, weddings, grandchildren. It's all fun stuff." Another contraction hit her. "Ah, and grandchildren will be the best part because I won't have to do this anymore."

"It's all worth it though," Steve said, taking her hand.

"Ugh, switch me for five minutes and you'll see," Alexia snapped back.

* * *

_2025_

That night was tense in the McGarrett house. At dinner, Julia and her father weren't speaking to each other. With the tension between the two of them, no one else was really talking. Jack was the only one talking, while Lucy tried to sneakily text under the table. It was well past dinner now and Steve was laying wide awake, unhappy. He wasn't happy that his little girl, his baby had just gotten engaged; he was also less than thrilled that Alexia told them they could stay the night in Julia's room, even if they were getting married.

"Would you go to sleep already?" Alexia asked, turning onto her side to face him; he was laying on his back. Her continual argument was that he used to stay at her place with her well before they were even engaged, so he shouldn't be bothered by Nick staying the night.

"Do you hear that?" Steve asked, changing the subject. Alexia could faintly hear a male voice.

"It's probably just Jack on the phone," Alexia mumbled sleepily. "You need to relax babe."

"It's three in the morning," Steve said. "Jack's not on the phone."

"Ok, well maybe Nick and Julia are planning to run away and elope after that awkward dinner."

"I know that you probably think you're being funny," Steve said, getting out of bed. "But I don't." Alexia stuck her tongue out at him, sitting up and turning on the bed side light.

"Where are you going?" Alexia asked and he waved her off. She rolled her eyes, throwing off the blankets and getting out of bed as well. Down the hall, she could hear what was going on. The voice didn't belong to Jack or Nick; Lucy had a boy over.

"Daddy," she could hear Lucy saying from her room. "No, daddy, we were just talking."

Alexia was in the hall when the door to Lucy's room swung open. Lucy's on again and off again boyfriend since high school Jessie came out. Or, rather, he was pushed out because Steve had him by the collar of his shirt. Steve took him out of the room and down the stairs before tossing him outside. Lucy and Alexia could both hear the door slam shut before Steve came back upstairs.

"Daddy-"

"In the morning," Steve shook his head at her, exhausted. Alexia bit her lip to keep from laughing as she followed Steve back into their bedroom. While she knew that it was serious that Lucy had helped a boy through her window in the middle of the night, she thought it was pretty funny to see Steve this way.

"Babe," Alexia said, trying to stifle a giggle.

"It's not funny," Steve insisted as she got back into bed with him. She held her fingers close together as if to say it was a little funny.

"I'll talk to Lucy in the morning," she assured him, kissing his cheek.

"Our daughters are going to be the death of me."

* * *

_Present Day_

"Oh my God, this baby is trying to kill me," Alexia said, squeezing Steve's hand again. "Eleven hours. Eleven freaking hours I've been in labor. I could have had Lucy three times by now!" Her head fell back against the pillow. "I can't do this anymore."

"Hey, yeah you can," Steve assured her, kissing the back of her hand. "Baby, you-"

"Hi," Doctor Hooper smiled, coming into the room to check on Alexia. "How are we doing in here?"

"Please tell me it's soon," Alexia practically begged her. "Not_ in a little while_ or _a few hours from now_. But-"

"Actually," Doctor Hooper told them. "I think you're ready to meet your son."

* * *

_2026_

"You did good today dad," Jack told Steve at the reception hall. Earlier that afternoon was Julia and Nick's wedding. It was a rough start at the beginning of the engagement, but very quickly everyone got on board because they knew it was what made Julia happy and that was what was important.

"You think so kid?" Steve asked, amused. He used to look down at Jack, but since he had started high school, Jack hit a growth spurt and was catching up to his dad fast.

"You didn't even try to kill Nick," Jack told him.

"Only because he seems to make your sister so happy," Steve said, looking at his daughter from across the room.

He excused himself from his son since it was time for the father daughter dance. Julia hadn't stopped smiling all day and Steve was glad that she was so happy. Wearing her heels, she was nearly as tall as him for once in her life.

"You look beautiful honey," Steve told her.

"Thanks dad," Julia smiled at him.

"And," he started off saying. "I know I can give Nick a hard time." He smiled at her. "But, he's a good man. I'm happy for you both." Julia smiled bigger.

"So...I guess now would be a good time to tell you about Nick's job offer in Chicago?" Julia asked him; Steve took a moment to process it.

"It's been awhile since your mom and I have seen snow," Steve answered. "I'm thinking Christmas this year will be in Chicago."

"I love you dad," she told him, laying her head on his shoulder.

"I love you too Jules."

* * *

_Present Day_

Steve couldn't believe that Jack was finally here. Exhausted from labor, Alexia had fallen asleep in the hospital bed. Steve was sitting in the chair next to her, cradling Jack in his arms. Jack, so far at least, was a very calm and relaxed baby. He just laid there in Steve's arms, staring around the room. After he was born, Steve called home and asked Doris to bring the girls to the hospital to meet their baby brother. Hearing Alexia shifting in her bed, he looked over and saw her smiling at him.

"He's so sweet," Alexia said, watching Steve hold him. Soon, Doris came into the hospital room with the girls.

"Hey girls, come here," Steve said and they came over to where he was sitting. Jack looked at his sisters with blue green eyes that matched Steve and Julia's. "This is your brother, Jack."

"Hi Jack," Lucy told him.

Steve sat and held the baby while his sisters went on and on about how much they loved him. Alexia smiled as she watched from her bed, Doris sitting and talking with her. Steve knew that one day his kids would all grow up, they'd eventually move away. And, when that time came it would all be very exciting. But, for now, he was perfectly content with his two little girls and his new born son. He was ready to take them all home.

**thanks for reading as always! really hope you all liked the update, especially the future parts (which became more julia centered than i initially anticipated...) anyway, i'm contemplating writing a spin off story since i had so much fun writing about the future, with all the kids being older (about the age they were in the parts of this story). thoughts? thanks again! :) i'll be sure to update this and try to start the new story if everyone's interested next week :) **


	19. Work Me and Home Me

**thanks so much for the reviews, follows, and favorites! i think i might have caused some confusion...i just wanted to let everyone know that i'm not finished with this story yet, probably not for a little bit since i like writing along with the series. i'll just be writing the future story alongside it (which is now posted if you're interested! lol) i'm glad everyone liked the last update and i hope you like this one! :) **

_Work Me and Home Me_

A few days after Jack was born, Steve and Alexia were able to take him home. The girls were really excited to have their baby brother home. Doris would come over to see the kids and help Alexia while Steve was at work. Part of the rules with her though was that Alexia or Steve had to be there. Neither of them were still sure if they could trust her.

That night, Alexia and Steve were both stretched out in bed. They were exhausted after work, taking the girls to various practices, and of course taking care of the new baby. Every night, almost like he was an alarm clock, Jack would wake up between two and three in the morning. At 2:47 that night his crying came over the baby monitor.

"I got him," Alexia mumbled into her pillow as she was stretched out on her stomach; though she said she got him, she couldn't find it in her to move.

"You sure?" Steve asked, turning his head over to look at her from where he was laying on his back; she still didn't move. "Babe." He reached over to her arm, feeling how warm she was. "Lex, are you sick?"

"Nuh huh," she shook her head, still not moving from her spot.

"I got him," he said, getting out of bed and heading down the hall to Jack's room. When he turned on the light, Jack stopped crying as much because he knew that meant he was going to be picked up soon. A lot of times in the middle of the night, he didn't need fed or changed, he just didn't like being alone. Steve wondered if babies had nightmares.

When he looked over the side of the crib, Jack was still whimpering, sucking on his fingers. As soon as Steve scooped him up from his crib, Jack stopped crying completely as he was perfectly content now. Steve went over to sit in the rocking chair, hoping he could soothe Jack back to sleep soon. Nights like these, Steve found himself talking things out with Jack; things about the house, work, anything really. Alexia had caught him once and thought it was really adorable.

"Man," Steve sighed, rocking Jack back to sleep. He held Jack in one arm, letting Jack play with his fingers on his free hand. "We're going to have a busy day tomorrow kid." Jack looked up at Steve, his eyes wide. "Your mommy's sick."

"Gah," Jack cooed.

"Right," Steve nodded. "One of your sisters has dance camp, the other one has soccer camp. Then we gotta find someone to watch you." Jack was squeezing one of Steve's fingers with both of his tiny hands. "Can't ask Grandma, because-"

Jack started making spit bubbles at Steve.

"Exactly." He kept rocking the chair back and forth. "I guess I'll just have to take you in with me. Whatcha think?"

Jack kicked his feet a little.

"I'll take that as an ok," Steve laughed. "You think you wanna grow up and be a cop?"

Jack kicked his feet again.

"Yeah? Just don't tell your mom. She might have a heart attack."

* * *

The next morning, Steve felt like his head was spinning. At least when school started next month the girls would both be going to the same place, though by that point Alexia would be heading back to work as well. For now, both girls had different day camps they had to be at and the baby needed watched. This was all while Steve had to get to work that morning too. Normally, Alexia had the baby and she would take one of the girls while Steve took the other. He was own his own today though as Alexia was upstairs, extremely sick.

"Dad," Julia said as Steve was putting Jack's bag together on the table. "Where are my cleats?"

"You left them outside Jules," he reminded her, since they had been muddy yesterday.

"Daddy," Lucy said as Julia ran outside to get her shoes. "Where's mommy?"

"Mommy's sick sweetheart," Steve told her, zipping the bag shut. "What is it?"

"I need mommy," Lucy explained.

"She's sleeping honey," Steve said, kneeling down to her. "What do you need? Can daddy help?"

"Mommy always puts my hair in a bun for ballet class," Lucy told him; Steve just blinked at her.

"Julia!"

"Coming!" Julia said, coming back into the kitchen. She had her little sister sit at the table while she stood behind her and pulled up her hair. Steve grabbed his phone and put it in his pocket, grabbing his keys next and then tossing the bag over his shoulder. He lead the girls outside, locking the door behind him. He didn't even make it off the porch before he realized he forgot something extremely important. He opened the door back up and saw Jack laying in his baby carrier on the living room floor.

"Daddy is so sorry," Steve said, picking up the baby carrier and heading back outside where the girls were giggling at him. "Don't tell your mother."

Steve got the girls to their respective camps without any further issues, making it to work just in time. Coming in with the baby and the diaper bag, the team all looked at him curiously as he made his way over to his office. He explained that Alexia was sick and that he had to watch the baby today. They all nodded in understanding as Steve took Jack into his office, dropping the baby bag on the couch and setting Jack on his desk.

"Hey man," Danny said, coming into Steve's office. "I don't know what you want to do, but we just got a case so we're heading out to the scene."

"What do you mean, what I want to do?" Steve asked curiously.

"About Jack," Danny clarified.

"I can't take a baby to a crime scene Danno," Steve said.

"I meant like a day care or something!" Danny told him. "Jeez, I'm not new at this."

"No," Steve shook his head. "Lex is still being really weird about day cares." The only one that she liked, the one she had taken the girls too, was the one at the hospital where she worked. They couldn't take Jack there, however, until Alexia started work again.

"What about your mom?" Danny asked. Jack started blowing spit bubbles again.

"Exactly," Steve said, pointing at his tiny son. "Two weeks old and he gets it."

"All right," Danny gave up. "We'll let you know what we find."

"K," Steve agreed.

* * *

Alexia couldn't believe that she was sick. She hoped that it was only a twenty four hour thing as she got out of bed to go make herself some soup. When she was in the kitchen, she heard someone coming into the house. Turning around, she saw Doris coming into the house.

"How did you get in here?" Alexia asked her curiously.

"The locks on this house haven't changed in twenty years," Doris pointed out, setting a box from the bakery on the counter. "I brought cocoa puffs for everyone." Alexia sneezed into a tissue. "Are you sick?" She nodded. "Well, you should have called me! Where are the girls?"

"Camp," Alexia answered.

"What about the baby?" Doris asked.

"Steve took him into work."

"You let Jack sit down at Five-0 all day, rather than call me for help?" Doris asked with raised eye brows; Alexia shrugged, taking a cocoa puff out of the box.

"I'm complicated," Alexia said, taking a piece off and eating it. "You know the situation Doris."

"Right, right, the rules," Doris said; Alexia sneezed again. "Well, if I can't take care of your kids I'm at least going to take care of you."

"Doris, I'm fine," Alexia insisted, sneezing more. "Seriously, I can take care of myself."

"Uh huh," Doris said, looking her over. "Go on, upstairs. I'll finish making your soup."

"Doris-"

"Upstairs," Doris repeated; Alexia rolled her eyes, going up to her and Steve's room. She couldn't believe that she was almost thirty six and being bossed around by her husband's mother.

* * *

Danny and the others came back with news about the case. Steve was still in his office with Jack, sitting with him on the couch as he gave him a bottle. Danny came in, beginning to explain about what they found out but stopped when he saw Steve with Jack. Steve wasn't sure why Danny had stopped telling him about the case.

"Sorry," Danny shook his head. "It's just...weird."

"What's weird?" Steve asked in confusion.

"I don't know," Danny shrugged. "I guess I just never expected you to be good with babies."

"Babies are great," Steve said like it was obvious.

"Ok, well I once saw you hang a guy off a roof because he wasn't giving you answers fast enough."

"I did," Steve laughed, looking at Jack who had finished his bottle. "Your Uncle Danny almost lost it." He started whispering. "It was really funny."

"No, don't start corrupting him now," Danny shook his head. "Anyway, I see you do things like that and now here you sit, cuddling with a baby."

"There's work me and home me," Steve shrugged as Jack started drifting off into sleep.

"Well, home you at work is starting to freak me out," Danny pointed out to him. Danny knew that Steve was a good father, but it was still strange to see him being so good with a baby, especially at work where they spent most of their time chasing down criminals.

"Shhh," Steve told him, nodding his head down at Jack who was sleeping. Danny waved him off, heading out of the office.

* * *

After work, Steve left to pick the girls up from camp. He picked up Lucy since she was done first, then they went to watch the remainder of Julia's soccer game. After the game was over, he took the kids home after stopping to pick up dinner on the way. When they got back to the house, Julia carried the pizza box, Lucy carried the baby bag because she wanted to help, and Steve had Jack. Inside, they found Doris sitting on the chair while Alexia was napping on the couch.

"Grandma!" Lucy said, dropping the bag and running over to hug her. The girls were obviously unaware of their parents suspicion of their grandmother, both of them adoring her every time she came around. Alexia woke up when she heard them coming back, sitting up slowly; her fever was gone but she was afraid that she might still be contagious and she didn't want to be around the kids or the baby.

"Hi mom," Julia told her.

"Hey you guys," Alexia smiled at them, rubbing her eyes. "How was your day?"

"Interesting," Steve said, stopping to kiss her once. "How was yours?"

"Fine," Alexia nodded as Doris took the girls into the kitchen to get plates for dinner. Once she had gone, Alexia looked up at Steve. "She's making me crazy."

"That's what I hear mother in laws are for," Steve said, recalling what Danny had said about Rachel's relationship with his mother; Alexia rolled her eyes.

"Was your day really ok?" she asked. Steve had been alone with the girls before, obviously, but she had never left him on duty with three kids, one of them being a new born baby.

"It was fine," he assured her. "A little hectic, but all right."

"I heard the chaos this morning," Alexia teased, getting up from the couch; Steve set Jack down to hug her, then kiss her again. "You did good babe."

"Thanks," he grinned at her. "But, I don't think I want to do that alone again for awhile. I need help."

"Aw," Lex laughed as he kissed her again. "Ugh, babe, you're sweet but I think I might still be a little contagious. I don't want to get you sick."

"I think I'll be ok," Steve assured her, kissing her one more time.

* * *

That night, Steve and Alexia were both fast asleep, with Alexia feeling much better than she had the night before. Like clockwork, Jack woke up at his usual hour, crying a lot. Alexia turned over to Steve to see if he was going to get Jack. Steve, however, wasn't moving from his spot on his back as he was still passed out. Sleepily, Alexia reached one hand over to wake him, her hand landing on his chest.

"Babe."

"Huh."

"Oh no," she said, feeling how warm he was. "You're sick now."

"No, I'm not," he insisted, but then sneezed.

"I got him," Alexia promised, rolling out bed to go pick up Jack. "I hope kissing me was worth it."

"Mmmm," Steve mumbled.

"I'm going to assume that was a yes," Alexia said before heading down the hall.

**thanks for reading! hope you liked the update! :)**


	20. Happy Halloween

**thanks so much for the reviews, follows, and favorites! it means so much to me to know that you're all enjoying the story. and i love writing about the new baby, it's so fun so i'm glad you like it lol enjoy the update! :) **

_Happy Halloween_

Alexia woke up that Friday morning, before the alarm was set to go off. Today was her next to last day of her maternity leave; she would be starting at the hospital in the ER again Sunday, dropping Jack off at the daycare center that was two floors above hers. She leaned over Steve, turning the alarm so that it wouldn't ring. However, as she leaned over him, she managed to wake up her light sleeping husband. Before saying anything, he pulled her down to kiss her.

"What are you doing?" he asked sleepily.

"Shhh," she laughed, snuggling against him. "Just enjoy it being quiet for two minutes." They loved their kids, but the constant crazy could wear anybody out.

"Quiet is nice," Steve agreed, hugging her close and kissing her head. It wasn't silent for long though.

"MOM!" Julia shouted from down the hall. "Lucy stole my hair brush!"

"I did not!" Lucy protested. As the girls were fighting, they could hear Jack, who was now two months old, crying over the baby monitor.

Since it was Alexia's turn with the baby, she got up to get Jack while Steve went to go handle the girls. They were going through a phase where they were constantly arguing. Today's fight had evolved into a wrestling match, so Steve had to peel the girls apart. Holding them each around the middle under each arm, he carried them downstairs where they continued to protest and argue that the other sister was wrong.

"That's enough," Steve told them, setting them each in a chair at the table across from each other. Their constant arguing was getting old. "You too need to behave yourselves, especially for your mother today." Though it was Friday, the girls' elementary school was having an in service day so the students got a three day weekend. Since it was the day before Halloween and they all had the day off, Alexia was taking the girls and the baby to get Halloween costumes that afternoon. "Or no Halloween."

"But dad!"

"Daddy!" He was giving them both a stern look. "Sorry Julesy."

"Sorry Lucy," Julia said at the same time.

Steve made the girls breakfast before going upstairs to shower. Ready for work now, he ended up leaving the house the same time as Alexia and the kids. After helping her load the kids up in the car, he headed into work. The plan for Halloween the next day was for him and Danny to take their daughters all trick or treating while Alexia stayed home with the baby to pass out candy.

Once Steve was at work, he received a text from Alexia. It was a link to a picture. When he opened it, he saw that it was a costume for the baby; it was a clown. Steve shuddered as he closed the picture, texting back _please no_. It was that time of year when she always liked to pick at him a little for that secret he had told her such a long time ago at homecoming.

* * *

The girls hadn't shown Steve their costumes yet, wanting it to be a surprise. He was downstairs, waiting for Alexia to finish getting them ready as well as for Danny and Grace to show up. He walked into the kitchen to get the bowl of candy for Lex. He had his back turned as he grabbed the bag of candy from the cupboard, having heard someone come into the kitchen but he pretended that he didn't.

"BOO!" Lucy said, jumping up from behind the counter where Steve was pouring out the candy. Steve faked jumped back, putting a hand on his chest.

"Oh my God, Lucy," Steve laughed, kneeling down to his daughter. She was dressed as a witch, with a green and black dress and a black hat. "You scared me."

"Really?" she asked enthusiastically.

"Absolutely," Steve promised, picking her up.

He carried her back out to the living room where Julia was with Grace and Danny. Grace had gotten a bumblebee costume, so Julia decided that she wanted to be a ladybug. Both girls costumes came with black tutus, though Grace's top was yellow and Julia's was red; each of them had on antennas in the same color. Alexia came downstairs soon with Jack, who was dressed as a lion. His costume was a light brown set of footie pajamas with a hood that looked like a mane.

"Look at you buddy," Steve laughed as Alexia handed him over for a minute. Being two months old now, Jack was getting a little better at holding his own head steady. "You ready to come trick or treating?"

"That's just what he needs," Alexia laughed. She hadn't come down the steps the whole way. She was on the last one, leaning over against the wall. "To have some sugar and be up all night." Before Steve could comment, Doris was letting herself in through the front door.

"Hi guys!" she smiled as she came in at the kids. "Wow, you all look great!"

"Are you coming trick or treating Grandma?" Lucy asked.

"Actually, I was going to see if your mommy wanted me to babysit so she could go," Doris offered.

"No, that's ok," Alexia said with a smile. "It's just Jack's first Halloween, so I want one of us to be around."

"Mhmm," Doris nodded along, though she knew it was just a line.

Though it had been a few months Alexia still wasn't trusting Doris enough to leave the kids alone with her. Steve eventually passed the baby back to Lex, leaving his wife and mother alone to pass out candy while they took the kids trick or treating. Alexia could tell that Doris wasn't happy with her decision, but she didn't really care; there was still so much she didn't know and for that reason, she couldn't trust. Just then, Alexia's phone started ringing.

"Could you...?" Alexia started to ask, motioning to the baby.

"Of course," Doris nodded, taking Jack from her. Doris sat on the couch cradling him in her arms while Alexia grabbed her phone from her bag; it was Mary.

"Hey Mary," Alexia answered, looking over at Doris; she didn't know if either Steve or Doris had reach out to Mary yet. By the look on Doris's face, she could guess that they hadn't.

_"Hey!" _Mary said happily. "_What are you up to?"_

"Just watching the baby," Alexia answered. "Steve and Danny took the girls out trick or treating."

_"Oh fun!" _Mary grinned._ "Listen, I know you're getting ready to go back to work soon, but..."_

"But what?" Alexia asked.

_"Would it be all right if I flew out next weekend?" _Mary asked._ "I haven't been back in so long and I finally have some time off."_

"Next weekend?" Alexia repeated, though it was for Doris to her; Doris's eyes got big for a moment, but she quickly put a calm face on. "Yeah, that would be great." Alexia laughed. "You sort of lost your room though, with Jack and all."

_"Ah!" _Mary squealed._ "I'm so excited to see the new baby! And, really, I can crash on the couch or with friends or something. Thanks Lex!"_

"Sure," Alexia agreed. "I'll have Steve call you tomorrow." Soon after, she hung up the phone. Doris was still at the couch, her feet on the table so her legs were propped up, the baby leaning back against them while she played with his tiny hands. Alexia sat on the chair, eyeing Doris suspiciously.

"You haven't talked to Mary yet, have you?" Alexia asked. Doris wasn't looking at her, continuing to play with the baby. "Doris." There was the doorbell.

"You want to get that?" Doris finally asked. Alexia rolled her eyes, grabbing the bowl of candy before going to the door.

"Saved by the bell," she mumbled, opening the door where trick or treaters stood before her in various costumes. Alexia smiled at them, passing out candy to each of them before watching them leave for the next house and shutting the door. She turned back to her mother in law, leaning sideways against the door.

"Were you just hoping Mary would never show up in Hawaii again or..."

"I know you think I'm a terrible mother," Doris said, finally looking up from Jack. "That's apparent. But there isn't anything you wouldn't do for your kids, you and I both know that."

"Let's say I buy the whole _no way out fake your death thing_," Alexia said back. "But how-"

The door bell again. Alexia groaned, opening the door as she wasn't going to get any answers this way. She smiled again, passing out candy to pirates and princesses before shutting it again, resuming her stance.

"How can you justify being back this long and not seeing Mary yet?"

"Steve hasn't contacted her either."

"Steve isn't her mother," Alexia argued. "Are you really going to try to play that card? After every thing-" The doorbell rang once more. "Son of a-" She stopped as she whipped the door open, a firefighter, a cop, and their parents standing on the porch. "Hi," she said, passing out candy between the two kids. "Happy Halloween." This time, she left the bowl on the porch before returning to how she was at the door, watching Doris with Jack.

"What do you want from me?" Doris finally asked.

"How about the truth?" Alexia offered. "Because if you're concerned with being this perfect mother and grandmother figure...how do you expect me to trust you around them otherwise?" As Alexia finished her argument, Jack started to whimper a little in Doris's lap. Doris got up, passing the baby to his mother.

"I think he wants you," Doris said lightly, preparing to leave. "Tell Steve I'll talk to him tomorrow." Alexia sighed as Doris left the house. She looked down at Jack who had his head against her shoulder, sucking on one of his fingers.

"What are we going to do with Grandma?" Alexia asked out loud, kissing her son's head. Jack started coughing a little and eventually spit up a little on Alexia's shirt. "Well, there's always that," Alexia said, taking Jack into the kitchen so they could both get cleaned up.

* * *

Steve and Danny had to bring the girls back early, having caught a case. The plan was for Grace to sleepover at the McGarrett house anyway, so it all worked out. Alexia got all the girls ready for bed, letting the older girls watch movies downstairs on their own while she kept Lucy and the baby upstairs with her. Lucy wanted to stay in her parents' room with Alexia and the baby, falling asleep quickly against the pillows. Alexia spread out a blanket on the floor for Jack and her to play as he was still wide awake, laying on his back and laughing as she made silly faces at him. He had just started smiling and laughing recently.

Downstairs, she could hear Steve come back. It was pretty late, but she knew that the girls were still up watching movies. Jack was starting to fall asleep now, so she took him down the hall to lay him in his crib. She could still hear Steve downstairs talking with the girls, so she went to move Lucy to her own bed as well. Steve and Lex both arrived back at their room at about the same time.

"Do you know what your daughter was watching down there?" Steve asked as they went into their room.

"Well, since she's my daughter I'm guessing it can't be good," Alexia laughed a little, starting to change for bed. "What, is it like the _Exorcist_ or something?"

"Her and Grace were watching that _It_ movie," Steve said. "I told her to change it."

"You know she's probably changed it back by now," Alexia pointed out, remembering Halloweens when she was little with Seth. Her parents always told him not to let her watch anything scary and, as soon as they left, some horror movie came on the screen.

"I don't want her to be scared." They could hear Julia and Grace giggling downstairs.

"She sounds fine to me," Alexia smiled at him; she laughed.

"What?"

"She's eight and-"

"Don't say it," he shook his head, though he was laughing a little now too. Alexia wrapped her arms around his middle, looking up at him. "Oh no," he said, seeing her expression. "What did my mom do now?"

"Why haven't you talked to Mary yet?" she asked curiously.

"Babe," Steve complained, going to sit on their bed; she came over to sit next to him. "It's not something I can just call up and tell her." Alexia nodded in agreement. "With everything that's been going on here, and with her working, she just hasn't been able to come out yet."

"Yeah," Alexia said hesitantly. "But..."

"But, what?" Steve asked.

"Mary might be coming out next weekend," Alexia confessed. "She called me earlier tonight."

"Aw man," Steve said, rubbing his forehead. "When did everything get so complicated?"

_When your mom showed up_, Alexia thought but didn't say out loud because she knew it would make him feel worse. Instead, she took his hand and laced her fingers in his.

"We'll deal with it," Alexia promised. "We always do."

**thanks for reading! hope that you liked it, let me know what you thought! :)**


	21. All Gone Wrong

**thanks so much for the reviews and follow! really glad that you guys like it, i love hearing from you! i'm thinking that i'm going to write a few more chapters (maybe 2 after this one?) for this story, ending it with this past season. but obviously i'll still be posting on the future story lol hope you like this update! :) **

_All Gone Wrong_

"Well, what did you expect Steve?" Alexia asked, sitting cross legged on their bed as he packed a duffel bag. He had picked his sister up from the airport earlier, telling her about their mother when he met her at baggage claim. She didn't want to leave the airport with him, taking a cab to a friend's house instead. She was mad at for not finding out sooner, but she was furious with Doris and refused to see her.

"I don't know," Steve sighed. "I kinda wish I could be around this weekend, to try to get them to talk."

"I'm glad you're going this weekend," Alexia smiled at him. Julia and Grace were both in Aloha Girls and Danny and Steve were going along with them and their camp leader on a camping trip in the jungle. Alexia, worried parent that she was, didn't like the idea of the girls going camping but she was glad that the dads were going along with them.

"Me too," Steve agreed, happy to spend some time with just him and Julia. "Just, promise something?"

"Sure," Alexia nodded.

"Try to get my mom and sister together?" Steve asked.

"I will try," Alexia told him. "But, I don't promise."

* * *

Steve left with Julia that afternoon to meet up with the other girls before going camping. Doris wasn't at the house and Alexia knew that Mary had been excited to see the new baby. With Julia camping with her father and Lucy at her friend's house for a slumber party, Alexia invited Mary to come over that night to see Jack. When Mary got there, Alexia had a blanket laying out on the living room floor, playing with her son again. Mary was immediately in awe of her nephew, adoring him.

"He's so sweet!" Mary smiled, sitting next to Alexia on the floor. Jack had a set of over-sized plastic keys that he loved playing with, waving them around and occasionally chewing on them. "He's like a tiny Steve," Mary said, making Alexia laugh. They heard the door open a little, with a slight knock as the person opened it. When they looked up, Doris was letting herself into the house.

"Hi Mary," Doris said, giving her a weak smile. Mary's head snapped over to Alexia, glaring in her eyes.

"Did you know she was coming over here?" Mary asked. Alexia shook her head, the look on her face showing that she had no idea. Mary got up and grabbed her bag to leave the house, but Doris stood in the door way. Mary rolled her eyes, going upstairs to avoid talking to her mother.

"Don't," Alexia told Doris as she prepared to go up the stairs to follow Mary. Alexia got up from the floor, scooping Jack up off the blanket.

"She's my daughter Alexia," Doris argued back.

"You can't keep crashing in and out of people's lives like this!" Alexia finally snapped at her. Though things had been tense between the two of them for weeks, Alexia had never actually yelled at her mother in law, though there were plenty of times she wanted to. "If you really think that, then you don't know what it means to actually be a mom."

Jack had started sniffling, hearing his mother raise her voice. Alexia took him upstairs to soothe him, not concerned with what Doris decided to do though she was happy when she heard her leave the house. She found Mary hiding out in the upstairs hall, inviting her into her and Steve's room to talk about what happened. Once Jack had calmed down a little, Alexia gave him to Mary to hold.

"I can't believe her," Mary grumbled, cradling Jack in her arms. "After all of that, the things she put my dad through..." She sighed. "I can't just forgive her for that, you know?" Alexia nodded.

"I have a hard time trusting her too," Alexia answered. She opened her mouth to say something, but she heard a crash downstairs.

* * *

"Julia!" Steve called, looking for his daughter.

The girls had been sitting around the fire, learning various survival skills from Steve. Julia had gone back to her tent to grab her jacket, but hadn't come back right away. Steve found her with someone off the path in the jungle who had been hurt. Steve went over to them as Julia described his injuries to Steve; he remembered her mother helping her learn so she could get her first aid badge.

"All right," Steve said, wrapping the man's leg to stop the bleeding. "Our camp's over this way, all right? We can call for help from there."

What Steve didn't expect was to run into a criminal in the middle of the camping trip. After having him lock the others in the supply shed, the man demanded that Steve help him find something back in the jungle. He brought Julia along to make sure Steve didn't try anything. Steve went along with what the man said, doing everything in his power to keep his daughter safe.

* * *

"What was that?" Mary whispered.

Alexia held a finger to her lips, happy that Jack was asleep now and wouldn't start crying. She reached over to turn off the light before tip toeing over to the master bathroom with Mary and Jack going in before her. She quietly shut the door, turning the lock with a click. They listened to someone rummaging around downstairs, like they were looking for something. Alexia pulled her phone from her pocket. Since Steve was too far away and was in an area with bad reception, she texted Chin for help.

The intruder had gone long before Chin got there, though he got there as fast as he could. He inspected the house, making sure no one else was there before he went upstairs to get Alexia, Mary, and the baby. Alexia carried Jack downstairs in his baby carrier while Mary carried the bag for her. She wasn't going to be staying at the house that night, not without Steve. She had packed some things for the weekend for her and the kids.

"Do you know what might have been under there?" Chin asked, leading Alexia over to the study. The floor boards had been torn up. Whoever had broken into the house knew what they were looking for.

"No," Alexia shook her head, staring at the damaged floor. She couldn't believe that this happened again, that someone had been in the house while she was with her children; it made her sick.

"Could Steve have kept-"

"No," Alexia shook her head quickly. "No, I would have known." Steve didn't keep secrets from her, not since he had come home.

"All right," Chin nodded in agreement. "At least let me drive you wherever you're going to stay tonight."

* * *

It was early morning now. Steve and Julia were tearing through the woods, running from someone else entirely. They had encountered their kidnapper's partner while in the jungle, the partner opening fire. Steve was afraid he might pull Julia's arm from the socket as he nearly yanked her from her feet as they ran between the trees. Feeling they had gotten far enough away, Steve pulled Julia off the path towards a thick brush nearby.

"I need you to stay here Jules," Steve tried to explain as she knelt down to her, though she immediately shook her head.

"I want to stay with you dad!" she protested, throwing her arms around his neck. He knew he couldn't keep running with her, that she slowed them down a lot and she was in more danger on the path with him. He hated leaving her alone though.

"Hey," Steve said, pulling away and giving her a comforting smile. "Sweetheart, you are doing so good. All right? But I need to lead him away to keep you safe. I'll circle back here and get you."

"But dad," Julia continued to protest. "What if he-"

"Jules," Steve started to promise her. "Everything will be all right." He gave her a half smile. "Your dad's seen stuff scarier than this guy, all right?" Julia nodded and Steve kissed her head before sending her off to hide. Once she was well hidden, Steve ran back to lead the man far away from his little girl.

* * *

Danny had managed to call for help, with Chin heading up to the jungle with back up to find Steve and Julia. Knowing that he couldn't keep it from her, Chin stopped by the room Alexia was staying in with Jack and Lucy to tell her what was going on; Alexia had been staying at the hotel Emily ran, feeling safer in a crowded building than alone in her own house. She immediately started to panic on the inside, keeping calm on the outside for the benefit of her five year old that was getting ready to go to the pool with her aunt.

Once Steve and Julia were found and checked out to be ok, Chin took them in his car to take them home. Steve wondered why they hadn't turned onto his street and Chin explained that there had been a break in the night before and Alexia had the kids at a hotel. He kept his voice low, not wanting Julia to hear that there had been a break in. Alexia had kept it from Lucy as well, since both girls still had nightmares about the first break in.

Steve ran into the hotel lobby with Julia, Emily immediately spotting them and pointing them in the right direction. She gave him a key to the room so they could just go in. Emily knew about break in the previous night and she was sure Steve was freaked out. She also knew that Julia had been missing the night before and Alexia was in a panic about that. Hearing the door open, Alexia jumped but felt immediate relief when she saw that it was Julia and Steve.

"Oh thank God," Alexia said, getting up and hurrying over to them, dropping down to Julia's level to squeeze her tight. "Julia, honey, are you ok?"

"I'm ok mom," Julia promised, hugging her back. She was glad to be back with both her parents now.

"Thank God you were with your dad," Alexia said, looking up at Steve. "Are you all right babe?"

"Fine Lex," Steve promised as Alexia backed away a little to check out Julia. He rested a hand on Julia's shoulders. "Jules did great, she was really brave."

"Mom, you're crushing me," Julia told Alexia as she hugged her again.

"I'm sorry," Alexia told her, giving her one more squeeze before standing up.

"Mom," Julia said curiously. "Why are we staying in a hotel?"

"Well," Alexia said, nervously glancing at Steve for a moment before smiling at her daughter. "Your Aunt Emily wanted us to try out the remodeled rooms and tell her what we thought. So, I told her we would check it out." Julia nodded. "Do you want to change in your swimsuit? Your Aunt Mary has your brother and sister out by the pool."

Julia changed into the swimsuit Alexia had packed for her, both parents walking Julia outside to the pool. Mary was watching Lucy play in the shallow end while she sat with Jack under an umbrella. Julia went over to swim with her sister and Steve and Alexia waved before going back inside to talk in private. Steve took Alexia's hand as he lead the way back to the room, unlocking the door and letting her go in first. She sat on the bed quietly and he sat next to her.

"What happened last night Lex?" Steve asked, looking to her for answers.

"I was upstairs with your sister and Jack," Alexia explained. "We heard a crash downstairs." She sighed. "Steve it wasn't just a random break in, someone tore up the floorboards in the study."

"What?" Steve demanded.

"Did you have anything under there?" Alexia finally asked. "I don't care if you did, I'm sure if it was a secret it was a good reason but-"

"No," Steve stopped her. "It wasn't me." He thought about it. "Maybe it was more evidence, from my dad?"

"Or your mom," Alexia offered softly. It all made sense to Steve now. His mother had something in the house. Someone must have found out that she was still alive and was searching the house for whatever it was.

"Steve," Alexia said as he got up to go. "Babe, where are you going?"

"To take care of this," Steve answered. He wouldn't live like this, not with this fear for his family.

* * *

Steve took Alexia's car, driving over to his mother's rental home. He marched up to the door, rapping on it several times. When she didn't answer right away, he let himself in as the door was unlocked. Doris had been in another room and had been coming to answer it. Seeing her son in the doorway, she smiled. As she studied his serious expression though, his arms crossed over his chest, her smile quickly faded.

"What is it?" Doris immediately asked.

"I'm only going to ask you this once," Steve said, his tone somber; Doris nodded. "Did you have something hidden under the floor at the house?" She didn't answer right away.

"Why?" Doris asked instead. That was all the answer Steve needed, because if she hadn't had anything there she would have just said no. Instead, she seemed concerned about whether or not he had found it.

"Dammit mom!" Steve finally exploded.

"Why are you yelling at me?" Doris demanded of her son.

"Because I can't do this anymore," Steve said crossly. "The lying and the secrets, it's complete bull shit." Doris opened her mouth to argue, but Steve immediately stopped her, continuing his rant. "And, you know what? I could handle it if it were just me. But I have a wife and three little kids to keep safe."

"Steve, I don't understand-"

"Well, let me help you," Steve cut her off. "Lex and Mary were alone with the baby last night when someone broke in to steal whatever it was that you left under the floor of my house."

"Oh my God!" Doris gasped. "Are they-"

"All right?" Steve offered. "They're fine. Except that Lex doesn't even feel safe enough to stay at the house alone." He scoffed. "I hardly blame her."

"What can I do Steve?" Doris asked, her voice pleading.

"I don't care what was under the floor," Steve told her, running a hand through his hair. "All I need to know is if it can come back to bite my family."

"No," Doris said, her eye lids brimming with tears. Though she didn't want to believe it, she knew what was coming.

"I think that you should go," Steve finally said, turning to leave the house. Doris's mouth dropped open in shock.

"You can't be serious," Doris insisted, following him over to the doorway. Outside on the porch, Steve turned back around to look at her.

"I love you mom," Steve promised. "And I missed you so much. But...nothing's been right since you've been back." He sighed. "I honestly think it was safer for everyone, including you, when you were gone."

"Steve-"

"Doing what you did to protect your family, you should understand what I need to do for mine," Steve told her before walking away for good.

**thanks for reading! hope that you liked it :) let me know what you thought, please and thanks! **


	22. We'll Always Be Ok

**thank you for the reviews, follows, and favorites! i know it's been awhile, i've been having some major writer's block with this story, but thanks for being patient! hope that you like this update (which is going to be set up a little differently than chapters before, lots of short flashbacks) and it's the last for this story! **

_We'll Always Be Ok_

Alexia waited for Steve to get back from Doris's, having the kids back in the hotel with her. She had settled the girls to watch a movie, giving Jack his bottle as she attempted to get him to sleep. Steve had called to say that he was stopping by the house to make sure everything was ok, but he didn't say much else about what happened with his mom. Sighing, Alexia relaxed back against the chair as she continued to feed Jack, figuring that Steve would explain everything when he got back.

It was later then she realized when Steve got back to the hotel, with Julia and Lucy asleep in one bed and she in the other, Jack in his baby carrier close by. Steve quietly slipped in, leaving the lights off so he didn't wake anyone. Alexia was only half awake, noticing Steve stopping by to check on Jack, then pulling a blanket up over the girls before joining her in bed.

"Mmm, where have you been?" she asked sleepily, her eyes still shut as she felt him shifting closer to her, his lips on her forehead.

"I fixed the floor at the house," he answered quietly. "Changed the locks, that sort of thing."

"Maybe we should build a moat," Alexia grumbled sarcastically as their home security never seemed to be high enough, since this was the second break in. "With alligators."

"No," Steve smiled a little. "Alligators could come up to the house, we would have to go with sharks."

"Right there," Alexia pointed, poking his chest. "That's why I married you." Steve chuckled, taking her hand and kissing the back of it. "What happened with Doris?" she finally asked seriously, slowly blinking her eyes open in the dark to see his silhouette.

"I told her the truth," Steve sighed, touching her hair. "That I have more important things to worry about."

"And how did she take that?" Alexia asked, shifting on her side a little.

"Not well," Steve answered honestly, remembering his mother's eyes brimming with tears. "But, she listened. I had to drive by her place on the way here, all her stuff is gone."

"I'm really sorry Steve," Alexia said softly.

"Don't be," Steve said back. "It's not your fault Lex. She's the one the made it unsafe for you four." He moved so he could be even closer to her now. "You and the kids are the only thing that matter to me. I promise we're ok."

"You always promise that," Alexia said, fading back into sleep. Any time she had been worried or afraid, Steve always promised her that they were going to be ok.

"I'm always right," Steve reminded her.

"That's why I married you," Alexia said which made him smile, her eyes drifting shut as she fell back asleep, feeling Steve pulling her into him before he fell asleep as well.

* * *

A few weeks went by and everything was going smoothly. The girls were in school, enjoying it alongside dance and soccer practices. Jack was getting bigger every day, starting to roll from his back to his stomach when he was laying on the floor. It had been weeks, and they hadn't heard a single word from Doris or knew of her whereabouts. Steve had always wanted his mom back, but never like that. And, for his wife and kids to remain safe, he knew it was better if she was as far away from the island as possible. For now, Alexia was home with the girls making dinner while Steve was on his way back from work.

"Mom!" Julia called from the living room as Alexia had been at the stove.

"Mommy!" Lucy shouted at the same time. Their voices sounded urgent.

"Oh my God, mom!"

"Mommy, mommy!"

"What, what?" Alexia said, whipping around the corner out of the kitchen quickly as she thought there was something wrong. She had left the girls in charge of watching Jack as he laid on the floor on a quilt that they had spread out on the floor.

"Look at the baby!"

"Do you see Jack!"

"Oh my God!" Alexia squealed excitedly, seeing what they were talking about. Jack had started crawling for the first time, happily but slowly scooting his way across the floor.

"What's going on?" Steve asked as he rushed into the house, having heard the screaming from outside and having thought something was wrong as well. Seeing Jack making his way across the floor, he grinned ear to ear.

"Hey," he laughed as Jack continued to move across the quilt. "Our little man is mobile."

"Could you get him for me babe?" Alexia asked, heading back into the kitchen. "Dinner's almost ready."

"Sure," Steve nodded, walking by and scooping up his son, Jack squealing with delight as he did. Feeling his phone going of, Steve shifted Jack over to one arm so he could answer.

"Hey Danny," Steve said as he answered, carrying the baby over towards the table. "What's up?"

_"You're not going to like this,"_ Danny answered, Steve stomach sinking immediately; he handed Jack off to Alexia who looked at him curiously.

"What is it?"

_"They were looking at the security footage from that alley earlier,"_ Danny said, referencing the gruesome crime scene they came upon that morning. _"To see if they could get a glimpse of the killer, see if anyone sketchy was at the scene..."_

"What did they find?" Steve jumped in.

_"You're never going to guess who was there, dressed as a cop,"_ Danny continued.

Steve left in a rush that night, giving Alexia the bare minimum explanation as he ran out, hoping to catch the man ultimately responsible for his father's murder; Wo Fat. All that night, she didn't hear from him but she trusted that he was all right as she put the kids to bed, not easily falling asleep herself. The next morning, she sent the girls off to school like it was just a normal day, taking Jack with her to work so she could drop him off at the daycare. While she was worried about what Steve was up to, it was a fairly routine day in the ER. That was, until they were running a very unexpected patient through the sliding doors.

"What do we have?" Alexia asked, walking alongside the patient as they were pushed through the ER on a stretcher by the EMTs.

"Male victim, late thirties," they answered. She glanced down at him and, while he had been severely burned, she felt she recognized him from some where, a picture or something. "Third degree burns on nearly seventy percent of his body..."

"Get him on IV fluids now," Alexia instructed. "Morphine for the pain, and-" She felt herself being pulled back as they continued to rush the patient off towards the burn unit. "Steve?" He had caught her arm, keeping her from going off with the others, knowing that one of the other doctors would be perfectly fine to take care of this person, though he didn't care what kind of treatment he got.

"Do you know that guy?" she asked in surprised, her eye brows raised. "Oh God, is he with HPD? Is that where I rec-"

"No, no," Steve shook his head, his tone serious. "Lex...that's Wo Fat." Her mouth nearly dropped open.

"You mean," Alexia started in shock. "That's..." She wasn't sure what to say, but Steve nodded. "And you finally..." He nodded again; she became serious too. "Steve, you know the chances of him making it through this type of injury," she said solemnly; he might never even see prison. "It's going to be so touch and go-"

"Good," Steve said back.

* * *

_Flashback, 1992_

Steve and Alexia had just been dating for a few weeks now. The night before at the football game, it wasn't one of the football players that had gotten hurt, but it was one of the cheerleaders. Alexia had been involved in a mount, being the girl the others held up in the air during their cheer. Unfortunately, one of the other girls didn't have a good grip on Alexia's foot and the whole pyramid came tumbling down, causing Alexia to break her wrist.

Steve wanted to go to the emergency room, but she told him not to; he had to stay and finish the game anyway. By the time he was done, he was sure she was already home and in bed so he decided to call her in the morning. She didn't answer, so he figured she must still be sleeping off her injury. That afternoon, he went to grab lunch with a few of his friends, knowing some of the cheerleaders were going to be there; Alexia wasn't with them though. Her best friend Sarah informed him that Alexia didn't leave the emergency room until almost two in the morning, so she was probably still at home resting. That night, Steve decided to surprise her at the small apartment she shared with her mother with flowers.

It was an outdoor apartment complex, the set up reminding him more of a motel. He had picked Alexia up here a few times, but she never invited him in and he was slowly starting to figure out why. Her brother was away at school and her father had passed away. It was just her and her mom, who she didn't have a very good relationship with. These days, according to her friends at least, no one really ever saw Alexia's mother; she sank into an awful depression after Mark died, barely leaving her room let alone the apartment. He parked right outside their apartment door, turning the car off before walking up, flowers in hand. As he got closer to the door though, he could hear screaming.

_"Do you even know how embarrassing it was!" _he heard shouting; it was Alexia. He had never heard her voice like that before._ "They wouldn't let me leave the ER, they made me wait on you! And they just kept calling and calling-"_

_"Don't you dare take that tone with me, I am your mother."_

_"Start acting like it!"_ Alexia screamed back._ "Because you couldn't even be bothered to leave your bed long enough to pick me up from the HOSPITAL!"_

Steve didn't know what to do. Should he knock? What good would that do? As the fighting continued, about how Megan had no idea what was going on with her daughter, not even seeming to care that her wrist was broken. Slowly, he found himself backing away from the door. If it was him, if he was fighting with either of his parents like that, he wouldn't want anyone else around to witness it; it would probably only make him more upset and he figured she would be the same way. He didn't even make it back to the car though before the apartment door swung open.

"Well, I'm not staying here tonight!" Alexia shouted into the dark apartment, slamming the door shut again. Crossing her arms over herself, she turned back to walk into the night alone, immediately spotting Steve on the sidewalk.

"Oh God," she groaned, immediately feeling her face flush as he set the flowers on the hood of his car.

"I just, um, wanted to see how your wrist was," Steve tried to explain, feeling a bit nervous. He never had to deal with anything like this. The last time his mom even came close to raising her voice at him was because he left his dirty clothes all over his bedroom floor.

"Did you hear that?" Alexia asked; Steve quietly nodded. "The whole thing?"

"I didn't mean to, I just..." He trailed off as she started crying. It didn't matter that he wasn't sure what to do anymore. Instinct told him hug her, to hold her close and let her cry into him.

"I'm sorry," she sniffed as she was crying into his chest. "I'm so embarrassed, I-"

"You can't help it," he promised, pulling back. All he could think to do now was help her, take care of her. "You could crash in the guest room at my house, my parents won't-"

"I don't want to bother your parents," she shook her head quickly.

"I still got my camping stuff in the trunk," Steve said as a bit of a joke, him and his friends having gone on a camping trip the weekend before. "If you're up for that."

"Doesn't sound half bad," Alexia said, wiping the tears off her face; Steve held up his hands.

"I can sleep outside the tent," he offered, managing to make her smile a little as he wiped the last tear off her cheek. "Lex."

"Hm?" she sniffed.

"It's going to be ok," he promised.

* * *

_Flashback, 1998_

Alexia and her roommates, Jill and Emily were all slowly starting to move out of their apartment they had shared while they had been going to University of Maryland. They had just graduated, all going their separate ways. Emily was returning to Pennsylvania for grad school and Jill was moving to Virginia with her boyfriend so she could go to law school. Alexia and Steve weren't moving in together, they were actually moving farther apart as he was going to Washington to work for Naval Intelligence while she was going to Boston.

"Hey babe," Steve said, getting her attention. She was laying on the couch, boxes piled all over the place. She was laying upside down on the couch, her hair laying on the floor, looking extra pathetic as she refused to move anything anymore. "I know I told you to let me move all the heavy stuff, but this would go a lot faster if you'd actually move," he teased her, earning a glare.

"Don't rush it," she complained.

"Lex," he sighed, going to sit on the floor of the living room next to where her head was.

"Why are we doing this?" she complained, throwing her hands up. "Do you know how far away Boston and Washington are from each other?"

"It's 438 miles," he answered. "Seven hours by car, two by plane." He grinned at her. "Probably six days or something if you walked."

"What's it like up there?" she asked, reaching up and touching his head, making him laugh, taking her hand and kissing it.

"It's going to be fine babe," he assured her as he squeezed her hand. "Trust me."

* * *

_Flashback, 2006_

Steve had been home intermittently for the last few weeks. Where he normally was gone for several months, only home for a few weeks, this time it seemed to be that he'd be home a few weeks, only gone a few weeks. This went back and forth for awhile. It was nice that he wasn't gone for so long, Alexia had just had Lucy and Julia was three years old now. Tonight though, he got the dreaded work phone call and he knew that this time he was going to be gone for awhile. One of his friends on his way to get him, he packed his bag, taking it downstairs before returning to the bedroom to wake Alexia.

"Lex, babe," he said, gently shaking her shoulder awake. "Baby."

"Hm?" she asked, sitting up quickly. "Is everything ok? The baby or-"

"No, no," he said quickly, sorry he had startled her awake so suddenly. "They're fine. I just..."

"Oh no," she stopped him, knowing what it was; he was leaving again. "So soon?" He was just home for only two weeks this last time.

"I know," Steve sighed. "I can't help it, I-"

"No, I know," Alexia nodded. As much as she hated it, she never wanted him to feel bad. He kissed her once, telling her he loved her and that he would be home soon. As he left though, heading down the stairs to wait for his ride after looking in on his sleeping daughters, she didn't know what possessed her to get out of bed and follow him though the tears streaming down her face said otherwise.

"Baby, what are you-" he started to ask in concern.

"Please don't leave," she told him. His expression softened, taking her face in his hands as he tried to wipe the tears away. "I know I said I wouldn't do this, I know we said we'd stop having this talk but I can't-"

"Lex, sweetheart, it's ok," he quickly assured her, kissing her once. "Baby, it's all right. I-"

"It's not all right!" she stopped him. "Not when Julia wakes up tomorrow to ask me where you are." Julia was at an age now where, unfortunately, she noticed when he father was away and she missed him like crazy. Each time she asked when daddy was coming home tore at Alexia's heart. "Not when I can't sleep." Her eyes refilled with tears. "It is so hard for us when you're not here," she tried to explain.

"Do you think it's easy for me?" he asked her, snapping more than he meant to; he hated this fight more than anything. "Every time I come home, Lucy doesn't even recognize me, she cries when I pick her up. Do you even know how much that breaks my heart?"

"Then come home!"

"Daddy," they heard Julia saying on the stairs. Alexia quickly turned to the side, wiping the tears off her face as she pulled it back together. "Where you going?"

"Ah, daddy has to work sweetheart," Steve tried to explain and Julia's bottom lip immediately started to quiver. He scooped her up off the stairs, hugging her tight, looking to Alexia as he said it. "It's ok, it's going to be ok," he soothed, rubbing her back.

* * *

_Flashback, 2010_

The girls were upstairs in their rooms, each dealing with their dad moving out in their own way. Lucy sulked around the house sadly, letting it be known to everyone that she was sad while Julia threw a tantrum in her room, throwing things and slamming her door. Steve went out to his car, loading the last of his bags into the trunk. As he shut the trunk, he noticed Alexia coming outside, carrying something.

"You forgot your shirt," Alexia explained, handing him the gray Annapolis shirt she had stolen from him way back when, the one she loved to sleep in.

"Um," Steve said, feeling the tear in his chest as he took it from her hands; he had just signed the divorce papers the day before. "Thanks." She nodded quietly. "Lex."

"Hm?"

"Probably not the best time for it," he started to explain. "But, we're going to be ok. You know that?" Alexia sighed, running a hand through her hair.

"You keep saying that," she commented before turning to go back into the house.

* * *

"Do you know what this means Lex?" Steve asked her as they were still standing in the hall at the hospital; she looked at him curiously. "That's it."

"What do you mean, that's it?" Alexia asked in confusion. "You still have work, you still have Five-"

"I know," he laughed. "No, I know. But, we're done with _him_, forever. Everything is fine, I'm not going to be laying awake wondering what his next move is going to be." She smiled at him.

"So, we're going to be ok?" she offered and he only grinned back before kissing her. As long as he had her and his family, nothing could ever be wrong again.

**wow. can't believe that's it for this story! thank you all so much for all your amazing support, you have been so wonderful! thank you thank you thank you! and while this is the end of this story, this certainly isn't the end for steve/alexia :) i'll continue posting in 'where we end up' and i'll mention any updates for possible future stories there (maybe one when they were young, before marriage/kids? not for awhile though...) thank you again, i can't explain enough how much your support meant. please let me know what you thought! :)**


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